The Last of the Uzumaki
by Riku Uzumaki
Summary: What if Naruto had an uncle that used to be a Whirlpool ninja? What happened to the Whirlpool Village anyway? Read and find out.
1. Prologue: The Whirlpool Tragedy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and never will**

Speech key (this will only be on this page cuz I don't feel like repeating myself

"Regular speech"

'_Regular thought'_

"**Demon voice or Boss Summon voice"**

'_**Demon thought or Boss Summon thought'**_

Prologue- The Whirlpool Tragedy

In an unknown location a shady figure wearing a dark hooded cloak and a spiraling orange mask with one eyehole approaches the nine-tailed demon fox Kyuubi's den with an odd air of confidence surrounding him.

"It took me a long time to find you again, but now here you are… Kyuubi" said person spoke.

'_**Damnit… not him again!'**_**"What is your bidding?"** spoke Kyuubi.

"We are going to finish what we started all those years ago… destroy the Hidden Leaf Village."

"**As you wish" **_**'Typical Madara Uchiha, if it wasn't for that Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan of yours controlling me I would eat you alive!'**_

And so began the debacle that would soon be known as the Kyuubi attack.

* * *

As soon as Madara and the Kyuubi reached the boarder of the Whirlpool country and the Land of Fire Madara unexpectedly stopped."

"It's been a while since you got some exercise hasn't it Kyuubi?"

"…"

"I've decided that as a warm-up before we wipe out the Hidden Leaf, we will destroy the Hidden Whirlpool Village to make an example for all those that stand in my way!"

* * *

Riku Uzumaki was only a few miles away from the boarder headed in the direction of the Village Hidden in the Leaves when he sensed an outrageous amount of chakra charging in the direction he came from.

"This could be trouble, better call Janaff to get a good look ahead" said Riku to himself.

'Looks like I won't be able to see my nephew as soon as I hoped, oh well, I'll see him the day after he's born then' he thought as he bit his thumb and formed some hand seals

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Out of the summoning smoke came a hawk just as tall as Riku with a wingspan easily twice Riku's size.

"What is it Riku?" Janaff said right before he sensed the Kyuubi's chakra

"Whoa what is that insane amount of chakra" yelled Janaff.

"I was hoping you could figure that out my friend" said Riku

"Will do!" spoke Janaff

With that Janaff took to the skies to get a better look at the surrounding area. One thing that you should know about Janaff is that his eyesight is easily ten times better than that of a regular hawk so the source of the insane chakra was found in seconds.

"Trouble! Big trouble!" shouted Janaff in an alarmed voice.

"What is it?" Riku said suddenly worried.

"The source of that power is the Kyuubi and by the looks of it, it's being controlled by some guy in an orange mask with one eyehole!" spoke Janaff in a still panicked voice.

"THE KYUUBI!" shouted Riku on the top of his lungs worried beyond all reason.

"Do I need to repeat myself?!" said Janaff in his still panicked state.

"No, but did you get a good look at his eye at least" said Riku already coming up with a plan.

"Just barely, it was red and had a peculiar black pattern on it, but it can't be… didn't he die at the First Hokage's hands decades ago?" said Janaff starting to calm down.

"Apparently not…_'what is Madara doing here? Why the hell is he even alive? If he has the Kyuubi under his control again wouldn't his target be the Leaf Village? Why is he targeting the Hidden Whirlpool?'_ we have to go back." Riku stated in a rather calm manner.

"Have you lost your marbles?! The Kyuubi is out there!" shouted Janaff in a shocked voice.

"I'm not asking you to fight it! Just get me close enough to Madara so I can hopefully beat him, with him gone the Kyuubi should hopefully leave and return to its den" spoke Riku in a shaky voice, clearly not sure if he could pull this task off.

"Sorry but I'm not going anywhere near that thing!" said Janaff clearly adamant against going.

"Fine then! I'll summon someone who's strong enough to help then!" said Riku slightly miffed

Signing again Riku slammed his hands onto the ground again intent on summoning the hawk king this time "Summoning Jutsu!"

This time a much larger cloud of smoke appeared and when it dispersed a colossal hawk the size of a 2 story house appeared wearing a hawk feathered necklace and many battle scars.

"**What do you want Riku?"** said the hawk king Tibarn in a slightly board tone.

"I need to get back home quickly or the Kyuubi will level it in a matter of seconds!" spoke Riku in an urgent voice.

"**THE KYUUBI!!!" **shouted Tibarn in a surprised voice.

"Yes, but we don't necessarily have to fight it directly, all we have to do is eliminate the man controlling it" spoke Riku in a surprisingly calm voice.

"**Fine, I'll do it, but only because I'm board and am literally desperate for a fight"** said Tibarn.

"Wait your not serious are you your majesty?!" said Janaff fearing for his king's safety.

"**If you're not going to help us fight then go home Janaff, you're dismissed"** said Tibarn in a voice that demanded authority.

"But!" **"Now!**" "Alright." And with the hawk squabble over with the two remaining figures now focused on the main objective, save the Village Hidden in the Whirlpool.

* * *

All was going according to plan, in a few minutes the Whirlpool Village will be wiped off the face of the planet. Nobody dared stand in Madara's way… that is until he heard the earsplitting war cry of a colossal hawk descending upon him.

Tibarn was just inches away from tearing Madara to shreds until he somehow just phased through him as if he wasn't even there.

"That was close," Madara said, "if you did that quietly I would have been torn to shreds."

"What are you doing here Madara?" said Riku, "one would think that your target would be the Hidden Leaf Village, not the Hidden Whirlpool, did you get lost on the road of life?"

Somewhere in the Hidden Leaf Village Kakashi sneezed

"No, I just thought like giving my old pet a little warm-up before I wipe out that pathetic excuse of a village!" said Madara

"That's what this is about? A warm-up? Innocent lives are not yours to play with Uchiha! And you are destroying thousands for no reason whatsoever!" shouted a royally pissed off Riku. – There's an old saying in the Whirlpool, never piss of the Uzumaki, they are quick to anger and damn slow to forgive- and today is the start of an incredibly long grudge.

"You're pretty quick to anger aren't you?" taunted the renegade Uchiha.

"You don't know the half of it" challenged Riku summoning his sword (the Mystic Whirlpool)

Riku channeled his chakra to the seals on his sword making a chakra aura surround its red blade.

"Here I come you freak!" yelled Riku.

Meanwhile, Tibarn was having a difficult time distracting Kyuubi and avoiding its nine tails at the same time _**'what have I gotten myself into!'**_ Tibarn berated himself while just narrowly avoiding another tail.

"Uzumaki secret sword technique: Mystic blade barrage!" shouted Riku while multiple blades of light attempted to impale Madara, all were either dodged, deflected with is fan, or phased right through him.

'_Damnit!'_ Riku shouted in his mind, _' he's dodged almost everything I've thrown at him! This isn't looking good for me!' _

"While this has been entertaining, I think it's time I wrapped things up" said Madara "Kyuubi! End this and destroy what's left of the Hidden Whirlpool!"

All of a sudden, the Kyuubi started charging an immense amount of power in its mouth and Riku knew what was going to happen next.

"Tibarn! Get out of there before it's too late! Warn Minato that the Kyuubi's next target is the Hidden Leaf Village!" Riku shouted at the top of his lungs hoping that he would hear him.

Apparently he did because Tibarn immediately got out of firing range and took off in the direction of the Land of Fire.

'_I have one last chance before that blast goes off, I can't waste it! If I can't kill him I might at least be able to injure him.'_ Riku jumped up into the air right above Madara "Uzumaki Secret Sword technique: Rain of a thousand blades!" When the jutsu was complete Riku landed on a tree just outside the clearing of the battle.

Surprisingly, due to the immense blast radius of the attack and sheer number of blades shot out of Riku's sword, Madara couldn't phase through all of the attack and received sword wounds on both of his arms and his right shoulder, it also broke the left half of his mask.

"How dare you!" Madara gasped in a malevolent voice "you'll pay for that! Fire style: Volcanic Impact Jutsu!" an immense blast of fire shot out of the ground around Madara and hit Riku at full force due to his weakened condition.

While Riku was getting hit, the Kyuubi shot a blast of pure demonic chakra at the Hidden Whirlpool Village reducing it to rubble and the shockwave sent Riku flying a good half-mile away causing him to black out with his one last thought _'Looks like I won't be meeting my new nephew after all.. What was his name again? Oh yeah, now I remember… Naruto.'_

**What an evil cliffhanger and tragic beginning!**

**Please review**


	2. Last Remaining Family Member

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and unfortunately never will…**

Chapter 1 Last Remaining Family Member

Nine years later…

Riku still hasn't gotten over what happened to the Hidden Whirlpool Village, and news of both Minato's and his sister Kushina's death didn't make things any easier. Riku didn't hear anything about Naruto so he assumed he died on the night of the Kyuubi attack as well. That was until he overheard a conversation between two traveling hidden leaf ninja at a bar that were clearly wasted.

"So when do you think that Kyuubi brat will just die already?"

"Dunno"

'_Kyuubi brat? Minato must have turned a newborn baby into a jinchuriki that night…WAIT! Naruto was supposed to be born that night! Maybe that baby was Naruto! Maybe he's still alive! Better do a little recon.' Thought Riku_

"What was that little brat's name again?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really, but I remember that the name means a fishcake of some sort."

'_Suspicions are almost confirmed, and if I'm right it means maelstrom not fishcake! Thought Riku_

"The demon brat's name is Naruto you dunce. Not that it matters because he'll die by some random villager's hands soon enough."

'_YES! It is him, but what do they mean by die by someone's hands soon enough? Tch, idiot villagers! Can't they tell the difference between prisoner and jailor?' thought Riku in a both hopeful and angry way._

"So do you plan on finally ending the little brat's life on the day of the festival celebrating the Kyuubi's defeat?"

"Heh, doesn't everybody?"

"One of us might get lucky this time."

"Alright"

'_Tch, I better make it to the Hidden Leaf Village before October 10__th__ or Naruto might not survive his birthday this year, speaking of which I should probably get him a present along the way…' thought Riku._

And with that thought, Riku disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

October 10th 7:00 a.m.

Riku arrived just outside the village gates when he heard the festival already starting up, most would consider those sounds pleasant, but given Riku's situation, until he found Naruto it would sound more like funeral music. _'I have to find Naruto and save him from these crazy villagers!'_ was the only thought crossing his mind.

Since today was a festival, the guards easily missed him so he didn't have to worry about a search as long as he didn't behave suspiciously. After wandering the streets a little bit Riku decided to visit his old friend Hizuren Sarutobi (aka the Third Hokage) a visit to see if he knew. Luckily he had no appointments today so it was easy to get an audience with him.

"Great to see you again old man, did ya miss me?" Said Riku

"R-Riku is that you?" stuttered Sarutobi believing that he's looking at a ghost

"Yes it's me, and no I am not a ghost seeing as I and not transparent can't walk through walls." Mocked Riku

"Where have you been all this time? You never visited on the day Naruto was born or showed up after your village was destroyed." Questioned the aged Hokage.

"Allow me to take a seat and I will explain" said Riku

"Very well, please begin" said Sarutobi

And thus Riku shared his story.

"That is quite a hard tale to swallow, but it does explains why the Kyuubi attacked, but it also opens up even more questions, like how Madara is still alive?" asked Sarutobi

"Beats me" said Riku "but now onto why I came here, would you mind telling me where my nephew is?"

"Not at all" said Sarutobi "since the academy has a day off today he's probably at his apartment or hiding somewhere, I wish I could do more for the boy but the council has my hands tied so if tried to do any more for him they would raise hell about it. Most of the ninja portion of the council is finally starting to see past the Kyuubi and sees Naruto for who he is, while the rest of the council is as blind as the rest of the population."

"I see" said Riku in a thoughtful way "could you give me a picture of him so I could at least know what to look for? For all I know he might have red hair and blue eyes, or blond hair with violet eyes."

"Here" Sarutobi says while handing him a picture and Naruto's address "and it's actually blond hair with blue eyes."

"I'm assuming the whisker marks are a symbol of the Kyuubi's presence?" Riku said

"Yes" said Sarutobi "before you go, are you interested in becoming a leaf ninja, I have a feeling you will need the income, by the way if you do you will be given the rank jonin due to your obvious level of skill if you accept"

'_Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt, plus, it would give me a better chance to help Naruto with the influence and privileges ninja have around here'_ "alright, I'll become a leaf ninja, I've become a little tired of wandering anyway" said Riku.

"I should also set up living arrangements for you now shouldn't I?" said Sarutobi.

"That would be a good idea, you should also give me custody of Naruto seeing as I am his last living relative" said Riku.

"I'm already on it" _'let's see the council block this one'_ thought Sarutobi in a manipulative way. "How did you find out about Naruto anyway?" asked Sarutobi

"Believe it or not, I overheard a bunch of drunk ninja talking about him." Laughed Riku

"Before you go, I should tell you about the new laws that are in place since the last time you came here" said Sarutobi

"Alright I'll listen" said Riku in a board tone of voice

And so Sarutobi informed Riku of the new laws.

Right as Riku was about to leave Sarutobi decided to add just a few more things.

"Riku, before you go I just have to add a few more things" said the Third.

Riku turned around and raised his eyebrow.

"Here is your new address" Sarutobi said as he threw Riku a piece of paper, "it is located near the Namikaze clan mansion, I'm sure you remember where that is, and the best place you should probably start your search for Naruto would be on the top of the Hokage Monument."

"Thank you for your time old man" Riku said as he fastened his new leaf headband on his forehead.

* * *

Meanwhile…

Naruto was hiding on the top of the Fourth Hokage's head hoping none of the violent villagers would find him there. Unfortunately, after some searching, they did, and now he was on the run all over again. He was getting used to it and he was now able to outrun civilians, it was when ninja started to join in that he started getting beaten within an inch of his life, and soon enough that happened.

Right when the ninja were halfway done with the beating they felt an insane amount of killing intent directed straight at them. Hinata, who was hiding behind the trees at the time praying that the ninja who were beating on Naruto would stop (remember, she's too shy and timid to do much at this point in time) was frozen in fear as well hoping that this person wasn't going to kill Naruto. A foolish chunin that was too stupid to even do so much as feel the killing intent walked over to the source of the killing intent and said.

"Are you here to help us kill the demon brat?" the chunin asked with a creepy smile.

Then Riku, the source of the killing intent responded by saying, "no, I'm actually here to beat the living daylights out of idiots that beat up innocent little children" Hinata was relieved upon hearing this.

And beat up the idiots he did, as soon as Riku kicked the idiotic and stupid ninja out of the general area Naruto was conscious enough to ask:

"Who are you?"

"My name is Riku Uzumaki" Naruto was shocked hearing this.

"Uzumaki?! That's my last name! A-are you-"

"If you're asking if I'm your father than no, I'm your uncle" said Riku

"I-I have an Uncle?!" asked Naruto in disbelief and was also tearing up.

"Yea, I would have shown up sooner but I only just recently found out that you lived through the day of the Kyuubi attack, but I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere." Said Riku

Naruto, just getting through his state of shock returned to his hyperactive old self and latched onto Riku hugging him as if his life depended on it with tears in his eyes and yelled out "UNCLE!"

Riku, still kneeling down was now holding onto Naruto whispering comforting words to Naruto, promising that he will always be there for him. Meanwhile, a certain lavender eyed, shy Hyuga heiress walked away starting to tear up thinking _'I'm so happy for you Naruto.'_

**So how was that? Good? Bad? Perhaps a little too sappy at the end?**

**Please click the magic review button below and review; I could use some constructive criticism.**

**Warning: for all those people that are actually fond of Sasuke, prepare to see him look like an idiot in some of the chapters to come, oh, and Sakura will be a complete and utter bitch too.**


	3. Moving In

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto rub it in why don't ya!**

Chapter 2 Moving in

"So gramps! Riku really is my uncle?" asked an excited Naruto that looked like he was about to jump off the walls with hyperactivity.

"Yes he is, he is also going to be taking care of you from now on since he just moved into the village today" said a slightly tired Sarutobi.

"Yeah!!!" yelled Naruto in a very loud and slightly annoying voice that only a nine year old boy can pull off.

'_What have I gotten myself into?'_ thought Riku thinking if he should start regretting his decision.

"So, am I moving in with you or are you moving in with me uncle Riku?" asked Naruto.

"You're moving in with me, so you should start packing when we reach your apartment" said Riku starting to believe that this might actually be a good experience.

"Okay!"

Riku knew that Naruto's room would probably be at least a little messy but this was ridiculous! It was a complete and utter war zone! Not only that but considering how many containers of instant ramen were lying around, it was clear that Naruto inherited both Minato's and Kushina's ramen addiction. _'This is going to take a while…' _thought Riku.

"Yeah, yeah, I know my room's a little messy" said Naruto

'_A __LITTLE__? It's a complete and utter pigsty!'_ thought Riku while raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I suppose I can increase the speed of clean up like this" said Riku while performing a hand sign that will soon be one of Naruto's favorites. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" said Riku while 5 solid copies of himself appeared. "You know what to do" Riku said to his shadow clones.

When Naruto found out that the clones are solid and not illusions he immediately hit Riku with a barrage of questions.

"Wow those clones are solid! How did you do that? Can you teach me that?" and so on and so forth.

When Naruto calmed down Riku answered by saying "I'll teach you when I'm sure you have enough chakra to handle it the Shadow Clone Jutsu is an upper jonin level technique that requires a large amount of chakra that you might not have for a while." responded Riku.

"Awwh" complained Naruto

Then Riku cheered him up by saying, "but once you learn it I will teach you how the Shadow Clone Jutsu can be used for training, it is actually very useful when used properly."

When Naruto was finally done packing the pair took off for their new home, along the way of course they had to deal with the villagers' glares. Which Riku easily dealt with by displaying his impressive killing intent along with a glare of his own.

When they finally arrived at their new home they noticed that they actually had more room than required, not that they would use the house much anyway.

"Wow! So we're going to be living here for now on?" asked Naruto in awe by the place.

"I guess so…" said Riku _'if he's in awe by this place then he really doesn't know what a truly impressive house really looks like, you have been deprived of a lot of things haven't you Naruto?'_

"Can I go look around and choose my own room?" said Naruto with childish hope in his eyes.

"Alright" said Riku, "but the largest bedroom is mine, and try not to make a mess…"

The last seven words Riku said fell on deaf ears because Naruto already took off at speeds only a hyperactive 9-year-old can pull off.

Riku sweat dropped thinking _'I really need to get this kid under control and burn off his excess energy…'_

**Omake: Eating Habits**

"Since I'm in charge of you now I think it would b a good idea to get you to adjust your eating habits a little, so that means eating less ramen and more healthy stuff like fruits and vegetables" said Riku getting ready for the outburst he knew was going to happen.

"WHAT! Why do I have to start eating something other than ramen?! I hate vegetables!" shouted Naruto realizing that having a relative in charge wasn't all it's cracked up to be.

"While ramen may be your favorite food, it isn't healthy and can stunt your growth. I'm not asking you to give up on ramen entirely, I'm just telling you that you need to eat more healthier foods if you are going to reach your full height, do you understand?" said Riku

"I guess so…" said Naruto, clearly disappointed

Back at the Ichiraku Ramen stand, Teuchi felt like his main source of income has been threatened and he won't be making as much money as he used to.

**That chapter was a lot shorter than the others, well I didn't exactly have much to write about in this chapter anyway.**

**Please review**


	4. Introduction to Kenjutsu

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did he wouldn't need Hinata to practically shout the words "I love you" in his face for him to figure out her feelings.**

Chapter 3 Introduction to Kenjutsu

'_Looks like it's around dinnertime now, better get Naruto and myself something to eat'_ thought Riku.

"Hey, Naruto"

"Yes, uncle?"

"Today's your birthday right?"

"Yes it is, so?"

"So, I have decided that you get to choose where we eat dinner today"

"Yeah!" shouted Naruto already knowing where he's going to eat at.

* * *

Naruto literally bounced to the Ichiraku Ramen stand ready to enjoy his birthday dinner blissfully unaware of all the glares directed at him from the villagers. When Naruto reached the ramen stand he was greeted by Teuchi.

"Hey Naruto, welcome back! Who's your friend?" asked Teuchi.

"Old man, Ayame, meet my uncle Riku, he just got here today" said Naruto

"Yo!" said Riku smiling.

"It's good to meet one of Naruto's relatives, could I talk to you for a bit?" asked Teuchi.

"Sure"

Once Teuchi lead Riku to a back room the interrogation began.

"Okay, where have you been all this time when you weren't with Naruto?" growled Teuchi.

'_Great, I'm being interrogated by a ramen chef, I might as well just tell him' _"If you must know…" Riku told Teuchi his story and Ayame overheard as well while boiling Naruto's ramen.

"So that explains it, alright I believe you and I'm sorry for what happened"

"It's alright I don't blame you, now if you excuse me I'd like to order my food now"

"Alright Naruto, since it is your birthday today I'll let you eat as much as you want" said Riku unaware of the threat he unleashed upon his wallet.

"ALRIGHT!" shouted Naruto intent on eating until his stomach explodes (not literally of course).

* * *

A half hour later with a much poorer Riku and much richer Teuchi…

'_I can't believe Naruto ate 30 bowls of ramen! __**30!**__ Not even Kushina or Minato ate that many at once! Naruto's ramen addiction must be equal to both of theirs combined! It's a good thing I made a lot of money off of mercenary work or I would either be flat broke or washing dishes right now!'_

Once Riku guided Naruto back to the house he brought out what he got on the road to give to Naruto as a birthday present and placed it in Naruto's hands.

"Alright Naruto you can open your eyes now"

"Wow!" said Naruto in fascination as he realized that he was now holding a katana, but then he noticed something odd with it… the blade is on the wrong side.

"Uncle, the blade is on the wrong side" said Naruto needing an explaination.

"That is because it is a reverse-blade sword; it is incapable of taking a life because it is mostly meant for training, not actual battle."

"When are you going to get me a real sword?"

"When you complete your kenjutsu training under me, which by the way, will probably take 5 to 6 years."

"That long?!"

"Well I will be teaching you the most powerful kenjutsu style ever made, you can't expect to learn it over night."

"Oh" said Naruto a little embarrassed by his own dumb question. "So when do we start training?"

"Tomorrow after the academy"

* * *

The next day…

Naruto was excited, no, not just excited but completely ecstatic. The reason was because his uncle was going to teach him how to use his new sword! Nobody has ever willingly taught him anything before! (Iruka hasn't befriended Naruto yet) When Naruto got to the designated spot he saw a cascading waterfall in the background that was practically breathtaking with trees surrounding the entire lake the waterfall empties into with a small plot of land between the lake and trees that was clearly meant for training.

"Looks like you barely made it on time" said Riku who was almost fed up with waiting, "For starters I am going to get your speed and strength up to par with my expectations before I teach you anything fancy"

"What! You mean I'm not going to actually learn any sword techniques right away?!"

"Of course you aren't, if I did teach you anything right off the bat you would only hurt yourself trying to learn something! The Whirlpool Super Sonic Sword Style is kenjutsu to its fullest extent, if your body doesn't have the speed, strength, or stamina required to pull it off you will only end up killing yourself! Now put on those weights and start running laps around the training ground we're burning daylight!"

"Okay uncle"

"and once you're done with that I will introduce you to a chakra control exercise that we kenjutsu users use to extend the reach of our swords when we need it."

"Yeah! At least I'll learn something cool today!"

"and to end the day I will teach you how to meditate"

"Why would I need to learn that?"

"because it increases your senses and strengthens your mind"

"Oh"

'_This is going to be harder than I thought…'_ thought Riku.

* * *

**And that's another chapter down!**

**If you must know the Whirlpool Super Sonic Sword Style is Rurouni Kenshin's Hiten Mitsurugi Style re-named and slightly edited. However, Riku isn't going to die teaching Naruto the style's final secrets.**


	5. Riku vs The Council

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did, Madara would not have the annoying ability to phase through attacks.**

**This chapter was inspired by and **_**slightly**_** borrowed from New Chance chapter 71**

Chapter 4 – Riku v.s. the Council 

_("Show em who's boss Riku!")_

Riku was summoned to the Hokage office while Naruto was at school for reasons he already predicted. _'He's going to inform me that the council is outraged by me adopting my own nephew…' _thought Riku, _'well, time to put them in their place and show em who's boss, I have more hold over the entire leaf village than they realize!'_

When Riku got to the Hokage office, Sarutobi had a grim look on his face.

"Let me guess… the council of morons found out about me and wish to separate me from my nephew" Riku more stated than asked.

"Unfortunately, that seems to be the case."

"Did you ever manage to salvage some old documents from the First Hokage's rule involving the creation of the Leaf symbol and swirl on the chunin and jonin armor?"

"Actually, yes, and I'm amazed by the fact of how involved the old Uzumaki clan was in the creation of the leaf village without actually joining the village itself."

"Well we probably would have if we didn't already have a hidden village of our own."

"So, are we ready to finally put the council in its place Riku?" said Sarutobi in a dubious voice.

"Yes, I believe we are my old friend."

The next day was the day that Riku showed the council just how weak it really is.

* * *

The next day…

Riku was dropping off Naruto at the academy while glaring back at any parents that dared to glare at his nephew while adding a little bit of killing intent to strike fear into their hearts.

"Make sure to listen to your teachers and if they kick you out like they normally do, just use that spare time to meditate and improve your senses, who knows, if you improve your senses enough you might be able to listen to the teacher's lectures without putting your ear up to the door."

"Ok uncle"

"Now if you excuse me, I have a council meeting to attend to."

"Why were you called to a council meeting?"

"It concerns your adoption; by all means I find it pointless."

"Oh"

Meanwhile, behind a tree on the academy grounds, Hinata watched the whole conversation thinking of a way to approach Naruto without fainting. She thought that Riku didn't notice her watching them but he was really only feigning ignorance. _'Hmm… looks like the Hyuga heiress has a thing for Naruto… maybe I can play a little matchmaker in my spare time. I'll start once I'm out of sight, step 1 should only take a few seconds since that step is to just simply get her to talk to him.'_

"Well, I better get going…" said Riku before walking off.

"See ya later uncle!" said Naruto before running towards the academy doors.

'_Initiate step 1'_ thought Riku while walking off of the schoolgrounds "Wind style: Whispering Winds jutsu" (this jutsu is mainly used to whisper a message to someone nearby without anyone noticing or hearing you)

Before Hinata moved from her spot behind the tree, she heard a voice whispering in her ear, _'You should try talking to him, he won't turn you down or reject you, he could really use a friend right now…'_

After hearing that Hinata looked around nervously trying to find the source of the voice. When she couldn't find anyone she took off for class before she would be late while pondering what she just heard.

* * *

Meanwhile in the Council chambers…

The councilors were livid about Riku's reappearance and his association with the infamous 'Deamon Brat.' The civilian side hated Riku for interfering with their plans on torturing Naruto while the ninja side was afraid of him because they knew of his reputation as the Whirlpool village's Trueblade during the 3rd Great Ninja War. With the exception of Hiashi, who was planning on using this to help him atone for his years of inaction concerning Naruto.

'_Riku's still alive! Maybe I can use this to start atoning for my years of inaction concerning Naruto. Helping Riku keep custody of Naruto would be a good place to start, but knowing him, this battle is already won because he probably has everything planned out already. At least this will be entertaining' _thought Hiashi with a stoic expression.

Danzo, on the other hand was already plotting Riku's death.

'_A relative of the demon brat is alive! I must get him out of the way as soon as possible before he ruins my plans concerning him. The Kyuubi vessel must become my ultimate weapon as soon as possible and I can't do that with the Trueblade in the way!'_

Danzo's thoughts were interrupted by Hizuren Sarutobi and Riku entering the council chambers with the Hokage taking his seat with Riku standing next to him with his arms folded while wearing a grim and serious expression clearly saying that he is not amused by the council interrupting his free time.

Sarutobi started the meeting by saying, "This council meeting has been called concerning Riku Uzumaki's adoption of his own nephew Naruto Uzumaki if I'm not mistaken."

A collective "Hai" was heard throughout the council chamber.

"Let me start this by asking why some of you believe that Naruto shouldn't be in the care of his last living blood relative?" asked Sarutobi.

"Because he's a demon that should have been killed a long time ago!" shouted a foolish civilian councilor.

Everyone's thoughts were immediately halted by an insane amount of killing intent that caused all of the civilian councilors to either piss their pants or faint, while it froze all of the ninja in the room fear. The source of this killing intent was Riku and he was pissed off beyond all reason.

"Let me put one thing straight before we continue! My nephew is not a demon! He is the demon's jailor! He is nothing like the thing sealed inside of him! I should know because I fought the Kyuubi by myself the night it attacked the Hidden Whirlpool Village and am still alive to talk about it! If he was like the demon or influenced by it, you all would have been killed by him a long time ago! Not to mention that the demon was sealed away by the greatest seal master to ever grace this village! Your very own Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze! I find your lack of faith in your own Hokage's sealing ability disturbing! Not only that but I believe that most to all of the entire village population is full of morons that don't understand the concept of prisoner and jailor!" ranted Riku with his killing intent gradually growing with each.

At that point, all of the civilian councilors were either pissing their pants, fainting, or suffering from a heart attack due to the sheer pressure of the killing intent he was radiating. The ninja were fairing a lot better, Chouza and Inochi were trembling in fear, Shikaku was so fast asleep that an explosive tag blowing up in his face wouldn't wake him, Shibi's bugs were trying to escape from his body in fear, Tsume pissed her pants while her dog partner (forgot his name) was trying to dig a hole to escape the killing intent, Danzo also pissed his pants, and Hiashi was starting to get a little nervous, but he didn't show it.

After letting his killing intent subside Riku spoke again in a disturbingly calm voice, "Is there anything else you would like to talk about?"

None of the civilian side dared to speak while a good portion was rushed to the hospital due to fear-induced heart attacks.

Then Danzo spoke up, regaining his composure, "what exactly do you plan on doing if we separate you from Naruto?"

"Simple, but to explain, I will also have to explain where the swirl on the leaf symbol and spiral on leaf ninja uniforms came from. You see, when the leaf village was first formed, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju got permission from the Whirlpool Uzumaki clan to use _our_ spiral to honor the Senju clan's roots, because you see, the Senju clan is actually an off-shot of the Uzumaki clan. Because of that, as Uzumaki clan head it is within my rights to revoke all use of the leaf spiral if you piss me off enough, thus meaning, I can take away the Hidden Leaf Village's very identity, and will do that if you separate me from my nephew all because you want him to suffer for reasons beyond his control!" ranted Riku starting to raise his voice again.

Everyone looked at the Hokage clearly asking if Riku was telling the truth.

"He's right" said Sarutobi, "I looked at some old documents from the First Hokage's rule and confirmed that it is within Riku's rights to revoke the use of the Leaf spiral."

Everyone gasped upon hearing this and the Leaf ninja present put their hands over their headbands protectively.

"Now are there any more questions or am I allowed to leave and get on with my life now?" asked Riku.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Now to put things to vote, all in favor of letting Riku keep custody of Naruto raise their hands" said Sarutobi.

Everyone raised their hands.

"All opposed" Nobody raised their hands then.

"Good, Riku now has permanent custody of Naruto and this pointless subject is no longer open to debate due to the fact that it shouldn't have been open for debate to begin with!"

Most to all of the councilors hung their heads in shame cursing their stupidity, and on that note, Riku left proud of his accomplishment, but stopped behind the door choosing to listen in on any last second conversations, there was only one.

"I hope you're proud of yourselves" said Hiashi in a disappointed voice, "if you all just respected the Fourth Hokage's last wishes then the village's very identity wouldn't be hanging on the opinion of a pissed off Uzumaki. There is actually an old saying from the Whirlpool stating, 'Never piss off the Uzumaki, they are quick to anger and damn slow to forgive' and boy did you piss one off big time!"

After that, Riku left knowing that there was at least one man on the council he could trust.

Danzo on the other hand, was still plotting Riku's removal.

'_I have to get rid of him as soon as possible! He is too dangerous to be left alive!'_

Fool

* * *

**Omake: Befriending Naruto (Hinata's burst of courage)**

After Riku was done scaring the council shitless, he decided to see if phase one of his plan to get Naruto and Hinata together was making any progress. Meanwhile it was lunchtime at the academy. As usual, Naruto was alone, but Hinata decided that now, she was going to change that. Taking the words she heard whispered to her to heart, Hinata gathered what little courage she had and approached Naruto.

"H-hello N-naruto" stuttered Hinata.

"Oh, um, hello to you to, Hinata right?"

'_HE REMEMBERS MY NAME!'_ Hinata happily shouted in her head.

"Y-yes that's r-right, do you m-mind if I j-join you for lunch?"

"Really?! Sure! You're welcome to join me!"

'_He said yes!'_ at that point, Hinata was doing the happy dance in her head.

Once they finished their respective meals and talked a little (or in Hinata's case, stuttered), it was time to return to class.

"You know Hinata, at first glance, I thought that you were just a shy, dark weirdo…"

Hinata hung her head hearing this, _'he doesn't like me…'_

"…but after getting to know you a little bit, you're actually kinda nice! We should really have lunch together more often."

Hinata was lost in her own little world at that point, _'Naruto thinks that I'm nice! And he wants to have lunch with me more often! Maybe some of them might turn into dates! NO! bad Hinata! You're getting ahead of yourself, nothing THAT good could happen to you…"_

While Hinata was doing this, Naruto was observing the constantly changing expressions on her face. _'She may be nice, but she is still a little weird… meh, it doesn't matter, I can live with that.'_

"Umm, Hinata are you alright?"

Snapping out of her trance Hinata responded, "I-I'm a-alright N-naruto."

'_Hmm… that stutter of hers is kinda cute… NO! bad Naruto! You just met her! Don't think things like that!'_

And with that, Naruto and Hinata returned to class.

All that time Riku was spying on them from a distance, proud of the progress that was made today. _'Phase one: complete'_

* * *

**The council just got pwned!**

**Not only that but Naruto finally has a friend and Hinata is starting to win the heart of of her blond crush.**

**Please review by pressing the magical green button!**


	6. Welcome to the Family Hinata

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; if I did Danzo would not be the 6****th**** Hokage!**

**Note: This chapter will be a tear-jerker so I suggest you break out the tissues before reading. You have been warned…**

Character's current ages: (For those who wish to know)

Riku- 33

Naruto- 11

Hinata- 10

Chapter 5: Welcome to the Family Hinata

(2-year Time-skip from last chapter)

Naruto's first year and second year with Riku slowly became rather uneventful after befriending Hinata. Not only that, but when Hiashi found out that Hinata became friends with Naruto, he just simply told her to not be a burden for her new friend. Hinata almost couldn't believe her ears! Sure, he didn't express his approval of her friendship, but he didn't disapprove it either (Hiashi would never say the real reason why he didn't disapprove).

Naruto's life definitely took a turn for the better when his uncle found him. Not only did he get to truly celebrate his birthday for once, but he now has a family and finally made a friend his own age! Naruto's teacher Iruka has also taken a shine to him a few months after he made friends with Hinata and even invited him to Ichiraku's for ramen occasionally after class. Naruto's life has definitely improved. However, even though Naruto could easily become the best in the class, he wasn't, and the reason why is because Riku told him that it would be better for him to hide his true potential.

* * *

Riku's private training grounds

Naruto's progress in his training was astounding! He got his strength, speed, and stamina up to Riku's standards in record time, not only that, but he was absorbed techniques like a sponge! How Naruto never excelled before Riku showed up was beyond him.

"Uncle Riku, you never did tell me why I can't show everyone my true abilities. Why can't I?"

"That's a good question Naruto, you see, while it might seem cool to show off and be at the top of your class. It'll be better to hide your abilities so your opponents won't be able to predict your next move in a fight, and therefore-"

"I'll have the element of surprise" finished Naruto.

"Exactly, I know it may not seem fair to your opponent, but remember this. You are training to be a ninja, and ninjas don't fight fair, we use every advantage we can get so that we may have an edge in battle against an enemy."

"But none of classmates are the enemy, they're going to be my comrades when we graduate, so why do I have to hide my abilities from them?" said Naruto.

"As far as you know, Naruto, but if there is anything that you can be certain of in the ninja world; is that everything is uncertain. Your classmates may start out as your comrades, but any one of them could find something that may compel them to betray you or the entire village. While I'm not saying one of them will become a traitor, I am saying that any one of them has the potential to become one."

"So you're saying that any one of my classmates could become a traitor to the leaf village someday?"

"If they find a reason to, yes. The most common reason is normally some mad quest for power. Orochimaru, for example, became a traitor because he wanted to master every jutsu in the world. However, he chose to try to obtain that power through forbidden means by experimentation in the most horrible and indescribable ways. He was caught red-handed by the Third Hokage during one of his sick and twisted experiments but managed to escape and is still on the run today. Not only that, but Orochimaru is one of the legendary Sanin, and was a student of the Third Hokage, that alone is proof that anyone is capable of becoming a traitor."

"Is there any way to prevent my comrades from becoming a traitor like Orochimaru?"

"Unfortunately, there isn't once one of them chooses that path. Traitors become traitors of their own volition, so that means that any ninja that betrays their village is not worth your time or energy saving. Once they walk down that path, they have chosen the life of a rouge ninja, so that means that that person will be hunted down and then killed. Although, I suppose that the only way to prevent any of that from happening would be to make that person not want to choose the path of a traitor."

"How do I prevent that from happening?"

"That's something you have to figure out for yourself, now enough talk! It's time to resume your training, now; I am going to show you how to do the Ryu Sui Sen…"

* * *

Meanwhile… (The tear-jerker begins)

Hinata's day was quite possibly the worst day of her life, her time at the academy was fine because Naruto was there and always cheered her on when she needed encouragement. However, after the academy was a different story, her father was even harsher than usual in her training, Neji beat her almost to the point of senselessness in their sparring session and then was beaten by Hanabi due to her already weakened condition, but the worst part of all, was when her father called her a failure and decided that he was done trying to make her fit for the title of Hyuga heir. Hiashi decided to give the position to Hanabi since she was showing potential and disinherited Hinata. However, due to a stroke of luck, the Hyuga council deemed her Byakugan too weak to be a threat she would have had her Byakugan sealed. However, things didn't end there, the council decided to do something that Hiashi was against but he has no say in the matter at this point, Hinata was at that point, excommunicated from the entire Hyuga clan, Hiashi barely managed to save Hinata from having the Caged Bird Seal put on her as well. Having nowhere else to go, Hinata decided to camp out in a random part of the woods that, by sheer coincidence, was a half-mile away from Naruto and Riku's training grounds. After setting up camp, having nothing else to do before going to sleep, Hinata did the only thing she could do in a situation like hers; she wept uncontrollably.

* * *

"Alright Naruto, training is over for today, let's go home because you are in desperate need of a bath!" Riku said while plugging his nose.

"What! I don't need a bath THAT badly!" Naruto complained before sniffing his armpit. _'Maybe I do need a bath…'_

Along the way back home, Naruto and Riku heard something that sounded like a little girl crying. Deciding to check it out, the pair moved in the direction of the cries of despair.

Once the two reached the clearing they saw the last thing that they wanted to see. They saw Hinata on her knees alone hugging herself and weeping uncontrollably.

Taking the initiative, Naruto decided to make his presence known.

"Hinata? Is that you? Are you alright?"

"N-Naruto? W-what are you d-doing h-here?" Hinata sobbed.

"My uncle Riku and I were just returning from our last training session when we heard you crying and decided to see what's wrong."

"O-oh… y-you d-didn't have t-to d-do that…" Hinata stuttered.

"Hinata, I'm your friend, so that means I'll always be there for you when you need help."

"T-thank you, N-Naruto…" Hinata spluttered out with a ghost of a smile.

"Hinata, could you please tell us what's wrong, maybe we'll be able to help you" Riku said trying to figure out what put her in this state.

"Y-you see… th-the thing i-is…" Hinata proceeded to barely tell them about her being kicked out of her clan because they believed her to be too weak to be a part of them.

After Hinata's stuttered out explanation she broke down into tears again while both Riku and Naruto had looks of pure anger written all over their faces.

'_How could Hiashi do this to her own daughter?! I can't believe that I thought he was a man worthy of my trust! That's it; I am going to take Hinata in and make them wish that they never threw her out!'_ Riku thought slowly regaining his composure.

'_How dare they do this to my first friend! I don't care how influential the Hyuga clan is! What they just did isn't right! Those white-eyed freaks are gonna pay for this!!!'_ Naruto thought at the same time slowly regaining his composure as well.

Once both Uzumaki's regained their composure, Riku decided to do something that would change Hinata's life forever.

"Hinata…"

No response other than sobs and tears

"Hinata, look at me" Riku said while lifting her chin up so she could look at him.

"I can tell by just one look at your eyes that you are a lot stronger than you or anyone else thinks. Not only that, but you are one of the kindest souls that I have ever seen, and don't you dare think that that is a sign of weakness for a second. Your kindness is your strength, and that's what separates you from the rest of the Hyugas. They are all so wrapped up in their traditions and belief that emotions are a sign of weakness that they forget to truly experience life. And personally, I'm glad you're not like them because the only way you could be like them was if you shoved a stick up your ass, which I highly suggest you don't do."

That last comment managed to get a chuckle out of Hinata.

Hey, uncle Riku, why don't we let Hinata live with us? It's not like she has anywhere else to go." Naruto suggested while shocking Hinata at the same time.

"That's a good suggestion, but it is Hinata's choice, so what do you think Hinata, do you want to move in with us? It does beat living out here in the cold" asked Riku.

"I-I ummmm… o-okay, I-I'll move in w-with y-you a-and N-Naruto" Hinata stuttered out while blushing profusely at the concept of sleeping under the same roof as Naruto.

"Okay then, now that that's settled, let's get your stuff so we can get you moved in Hinata. Oh, and by the way Hinata, welcome to the family." Riku said only to see Hinata faint from his last comment.

"Gah! Hinata! What happened! What's wrong! Uncle Riku something's wrong with Hinata, she fainted!" Naruto panicked.

Riku smirked at this, _'she probably fainted at the thought of being in the same family as Naruto'_, "I'm sure she's alright Naruto, she's just simply had a hard day and fainted from exhaustion, she'll be alright in the morning."

'_She's in desperate need of a confidence boost, oh well; I'll get to work on that first thing in the morning…'_

* * *

**That has got to be the saddest thing I have ever written. Well, at least it has a happy ending. **

**If anyone asks why I did this, it's so the Hyuga council cannot effectively bar the soon to be growing NaruHina relationship.**

**Please review, if you don't Riku will get angry and I don't think you will like that very much.**


	7. Adjustment

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Note: This chapter will be full of time-skips because I want to get to Genin Squad pairings ASAP. Oh, and Hinata will start being OOC later on in the chapter and the rest of the story due to the fact that she will have a lot more confidence and will be more sociable.**

**By the way, this chapter will pretty much be all about Hinata and her adjustment to living with the Uzumakis.**

Chapter 6: Adjustment

Hinata groaned as she woke up, when she got out of her state of drowsiness, she realized that she was not in the Hyuga compound.

'_Where am I? This isn't the Hyuga compound? Have I been captured?'_

Hinata mentally panicked for a moment before she remembered yesterday's events.

'_Oh… now I remember, I was kicked out of my clan because I was too weak and then Naruto and his uncle took me in…'_ Hinata then blushed at the thought of being in the same family as Naruto.

'_I hope I won't be a burden to them…'_ Hinata thought while falling into despair again. She then heard a knock on the door and then Naruto's angelic voice (well… to her it sounds like that) ask, "Hinata, are you up yet?"

"Y-Yes, I'm up"

"Good" Naruto then entered, "Uncle Riku's making breakfast downstairs, let's go!" Naruto said practically bouncing with energy.

"O-Okay"

* * *

A few hours later…

Riku and Naruto dragged Hinata to their usual training ground, which left her speechless due to the sheer beauty of the background.

"Ok, first things first; Hinata, since you're still recovering from what your former clan did to you yesterday, you'll be watching us spar using your Byakugan",_'He thinks I'm a burden doesn't he…'_ Hinata thought.

Riku continued, "Don't think that this will be serving its own purpose. From what I've heard your former clan said that your Byakugan is weak compared to others. However, that is most likely due to underuse of your Byakugan, this exercise is for you to increase the power of your dojutsu (visual jutsu) and increase the size of your chakra reserves due to the fact that using a dojutsu consumes chakra."

Hinata was astonished by what Riku was saying; the sheer simplicity of the training and the end result amazed her.

"Naruto, we are going to continue where we left off last time. Let's see how far you've progressed on the Ryu Sui Sen…"

* * *

And the training continued… (I'm not going to go into detail involving the training since I already told you what's going to happen. At the end Naruto masters the Ryu Sui Sen and Hinata's chakra capacity increased along with the power of her Byakugan)

After training was over for the day Naruto had a few bruises on him and was panting while Hinata was a little tired as well from using her Byakugan till her chakra ran out.

"Alright, let's go get some dinner, and before you say anything Naruto, it will not be at Ichiraku's, you ate there yesterday with Iruka, don't think I didn't see you there" Riku said.

"Awww" Naruto groaned in disappointment.

Hinata giggled at Naruto's antics.

"Hey, I think that's the first time you showed any sign of happiness today Hinata! That must mean we're finally making some progress here!" Riku said.

"Yeah! You looked like you were down in the dumps all day!" Naruto said.

Hinata could only blush at all the attention she was being given, however, she did not faint.

The group chose to go to the all you can eat barbeque restaurant that the Akimichi's love so much, and after that, they did whatever they wanted with the rest of their day.

* * *

A few weeks later after the academy…

"Naruto, Hinata, today we're going to find out what your elemental affinities are" Riku said while holding up two pieces of paper.

"What are the papers for uncle?" Naruto asked.

"These are chakra papers, just channel some chakra into it and you will be able to find out what your primary elemental affinity is; if it crumbles to dust, then you're an earth elemental. If it crumples up, then you're a lightning elemental; if it burns then its fire, if it becomes wet then its water, and if it is torn to shreds then its wind." Riku explained.

Naruto and Hinata channeled their chakra into the paper. Naruto's is torn to shreds and Hinata's becomes drenched.

"Well Hinata, I think this might explain why your usual Gentle Fist style doesn't work for you"

"W-What do you mean Riku?"

"What I mean is that the Gentle Fist Style is based around earth elemental stances, your element is flexible while the usual Gentle Fist Stances are firm and solid like earth. This would explain why it has been so hard for you to learn the Gentle Fist; you weren't being taught correctly"

Hinata was speechless, she wasn't a failure after all, she just wasn't being taught correctly!

"One problem with how I'm going to teach you though is the fact that I don't know traditional water style stances because I am a wind elemental"

Hinata's face fell after hearing this believing that all the progress she made in the past few weeks were for nothing.

"However, I can look through the shinobi library after training today and find a scroll on water style taijutsu forms, after that you'll have to practice its basic taijutsu forms before you integrate your Gentle Fist into your new taijutsu style"

Hinata's hopes were immediately higher than ever before after hearing what Riku just said.

"Now, for today you will both be focusing on learning how to use your element; Naruto, take a leaf from a tree and focus your chakra into it until you can split it in two okay?"

"Right!" Naruto immediately got to work while Hinata looked at him in admiration.

"Hinata" Riku got her attention after that, "you'll be focusing on moving the water in this lake in a circular pattern until you at least make a small whirlpool, it doesn't have to be big, just enough to demonstrate that you're capable of using your element"

After that, Hinata immediately got to work too (but occasionally looked in Naruto's direction without him knowing to 'check on his progress').

* * *

Two months later…

It was December 27th, to Hinata, today was very special to her. The reason is because today is her birthday, not only that but it was her first birthday living with Naruto and she couldn't be more excited. She was so glad that she finally managed to conquer her stutter and was now a little more confident and sociable, which in her opinion is a great accomplishment (Although it was only achieved through prolonged exposure to Naruto). Needless to say, Naruto and Riku managed to get Hinata out of her shell in record time. Hinata immediately got out of bed, got dressed and rushed downstairs to find breakfast already prepared and on the table with Naruto and Riku already eating.

"Good Morning and happy birthday Hinata!" both Uzumakis said simultaneously while smiling.

"Good Morning to you two too, did you really make all this Riku?" Hinata asked while looking at the almost ridiculously large spread.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did one thing that I forgot to mention is that all birthday breakfasts in this house must be large. No exceptions, so when my birthday comes around I expect you to cook because I'm not cooking on my own birthday and I know that Naruto here couldn't cook a decent meal if his life depended on it."

"Hey! I can too cook a decent meal!" Naruto shouted indignantly.

"Instant ramen doesn't count as a decent meal" Riku said in a matter-of-factly way.

All Hinata could do at the time was giggle at the pointlessness of the argument the two Uzumakis engaged themselves in.

After breakfast Riku told Hinata that she could do whatever she wanted as long as she didn't get in trouble (Not that she would, that's something Naruto would do with his free time), needless to say, considering that all her past birthdays were spent with stuck-up pricks, she had a blast compared to her previous birthdays.

Once she got back with Naruto, it was time for dinner and Hinata could smell a very delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. When she reached the kitchen she saw her favorite food hopefully still warm from the oven on the table… cinnamon rolls!

If there was one personality trait she managed to copy from Naruto, it was impulsiveness (at least when it came to food). When she saw a little sign next to the cinnamon rolls that said she could eat them when she saw them she dug in immediately (in a restrained manner) savoring every bite. She even let Naruto have some, which he happily ate in a much less restrained manner. The only thing missing from this picture was Riku, who just so happened to burst through the door while hiding something behind his back.

"What are you hiding behind your back?" Hinata asked innocently.

"Just your birthday present, now close your eyes and hold out your hands if you want it" Riku told her while bending over and waving his right index finger at her in chastising voice and motion.

Hinata complied holding out her hands waiting for what she hoped would be the best birthday present ever considering how awesome Riku was.

She wasn't disappointed because when she opened her eyes she saw a sword that looked like an exact replica of Naruto's.

"Before you say anything that is a reverse-blade sword just like Naruto's, it cannot kill anything with its blade. However, if you channel your element into it, it can still be a lethal weapon just like Naruto's when he channels wind chakra into his, I'll teach you the basics to swordplay tomorrow and once you have that down you'll have to make your own sword style based off of what you will learn and your body's natural flexibility" Riku explained.

"Hey uncle, could you tell me why Hinata gets to create her own sword style while I have to learn the Whirlpool Supersonic Style?" Naruto asked.

"That's because that style has been passed from Uzumaki to Uzumaki ever since the style was created, does that answer your question?"

"Yes"

"Good, now give Hinata your present to her"

Naruto's present to her was a new lavender jacket that had the Uzumaki swirl on the back. She absolutely loved it (mostly because it was from Naruto) and switched jackets immediately (don't worry she's wearing a shirt underneath her jacket).

Today was clearly the perfect day for Hinata, the only way it could possibly be better was if Naruto kissed her! And at that point she half-expected it to happen! Unfortunately, it didn't happen but she still went to bed with a smile on her face, it truly was the perfect day to her.

* * *

**End**

**Whoa, I stayed up until 1:30 typing this! School's gonna be a nightmare for sure today!**

**If anyone is wondering why I somewhat pampered Hinata in this chapter it is because I somewhat owe it to her after what happened last chapter.**

**Please Review, not only that, but please get your friends to at least look into this story, I want more reviews because they make me happy!**


	8. Graduation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**BTW, I am planning a MAJOR Naruto/Dragon Ball crossover, but I am currently stuck on a name, if any of you choose to visit my profile please vote on a title name.**

**Naruto: Am I in it?**

**Riku: You're one of the main characters! Of course you're in it!**

**Hinata: A-Am I-I in it t-too?**

**Riku: Yes, in fact, your part is just as major as Naruto's!**

**Hinata: R-Really?! (Walks up and whispers) **_**A-Am I paired with Naruto?**_

**Riku: Maaaaybe…**

**Hinata: Please! Tell me!**

**Riku: You'll just have to wait until the story unfolds… (Heh… messing with her head is so much fun *chuckle*)**

Chapter 7: Graduation

_(Oh! I forgot to mention that Mizuki gets his ass kicked in this chapter!)_

More time passed until it was finally graduation day for Naruto and Hinata.

Riku escorted Naruto and Hinata to the academy for the last time talking about inconsequential things, most of them being Naruto talking about how much of a kick-ass ninja he'll be after he graduates.

Once they got there, Riku bid them farewell and gave them some words of advice.

"The Genin exam should be easy for both of you, just stay confident and stay focused and you'll do fine" Riku said to them smiling.

"Right!" Both Naruto and Hinata chanted.

"Oh, and Naruto, you should expect one of your teachers to attempt foul play and anticipate it" Riku warned.

"But uncle, Iruka-sensei would never do that!"

"Who said anything about Iruka attempting foul play…" Riku said slyly while leaving.

Once Riku left, Hinata spoke up.

"Well that was odd… shall we go in before we're late Naruto?"

"Ok"

* * *

When the two entered class they immediately sat down in the back, Naruto at the end with Hinata to his left, Shikamaru next to her and Choji sat in front of her. Why were they doing this you ask? The reason is because, ever since Hinata started becoming more confident, a lot of boys in the class noticed her and started becoming the one thing ALMOST as dangerous as Sasuke's fangirls… fanboys… and their sights were set on Hinata. The only boys in class that kept the fanboys at bay were Naruto (He actually found the fanboys more annoying than anyone else for reasons he can't really explain), Shikamaru, and Choji. Sasuke didn't really care at all since he had his Uchihas-are-the-best complex going on, and he was too busy beating away his fangirls with a stick to notice Hinata, and the only other boy in the class that wasn't a fanboy is Shino, and he has no known opinion on Hinata's situation.

And then, one of Hinata's biggest fanboys came into view and sat as close to Hinata as possible before class started… Kiba.

"Hey Hinata, why don't you ditch these losers and hang out with a real man" Kiba said in a sorry attempt at scoring.

"That depends… do you know one?" Hinata said, shooting Kiba down and insulting his 'manliness' at the same time (She has **DEFINITELY**, come out of her shell).

Naruto, Choji, and Shikamaru chuckled at this while Kiba got angry at them.

"Hey! Why don't you guys just back off and let me sit next to Hinata?!" Kiba asked angrily while his dog Akamaru just rode on his head sighed mentally at his master's foolishness.

"Because, unlike you, we're Hinata's friends, not some random fanboys out to get a date with her due to visual appeal" Shikamaru said in his usual lazy voice.

After that Kiba just stormed off fuming while the other fanboys just hung around, admiring Hinata from afar a lot like the fangirls on the other side of the room.

In Hinata's head, she was chanting this to herself, _'Just one more day of this and I won't have to put up with this again…'_ Sasuke was doing the same thing as well, he was as sick of his fangirls as much as Hinata was sick of her fanboys.

Once time for the exam came around Iruka started calling out names to enter the examination room. Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Choji just simply hung around until their names were called, and since Choji's last name was first in the alphabet, he was called right after Shino.

"Choji Akimichi" Iruka called out.

"Wish me luck!" Choji said walking off.

About five minutes later, they reached the N's in the alphabet and Shikamaru's name was called out.

"Shikamaru Nara"

"What a drag" Shikamaru said before walking off. (I didn't skip Hinata and I do know my alphabet, the reason why Hinata has not been called yet is because she no longer has a last name due to her excommunication and has not adopted the Uzumaki surname (yet))

About ten minutes later they reached the U's and right after Sasuke left the examination room, Naruto's name was called.

"Naruto Uzumaki"

"Finally! It's my turn now!" Naruto shouted.

"Good luck Naruto" Hinata said.

"Thanks Hinata"

All of Hinata's fanboys glared at Naruto jealously while he walked to the examination room, and on the way he passed Sasuke.

"Hn, good luck loser… you'll need it" Sasuke said cockily.

"Don't need it jerk" (My English translation of Teme, if anyone can tell me the real English translation of Teme it would be greatly appreciated)

* * *

Once Naruto entered the examination room, he was standing across the room from Iruka and Mizuki who were sitting behind a large desk.

However, before Naruto was told what the exam was, Mizuki approached him with a cup of tea.

"Naruto, you look a little nervous, would you like a sip of tea to calm yourself down?" Mizuki asked. However, his mind was concocting other things, _'Ever since that demon brat's uncle showed up, he's been able to actually pass all the tests given to him, his grades might not be anything special and he's still dead last, but if my plan works… I'll be able to steal the Scroll of Forbidden Jutsu and everyone will be none the wiser…'_

Naruto took the cup, but before he drank anything, he remembered what his uncle said earlier today and noticed something in the tea's scent.

'_It's drugged… probably to sabotage my chakra control, Mizuki-sensei was the one uncle was worried about!'_

"No thanks Mizuki-sensei, it doesn't smell like the kind of tea I like anyway" Naruto respectfully declined.

"Oh, alright then" Mizuki said with a fake smile._ 'Dammit! Did he know the tea was drugged?'_

"Alright Naruto, all you need to do is perform a basic clone jutsu and you pass" Iruka said explaining the exam.

"Alright Iruka-sensei, do you have a request on how many?" Naruto said, _'If Mizuki-sensei is trying to sabotage the exam, I better not give him any openings to use'_

"Five clones will be plenty" Mizuki said,_ 'He's never made that many before, maybe he won't be able to now…'_

"Alright then… Clone Jutsu!" Naruto said; creating the requested amount of clones.

Iruka examined them and deemed them flawless.

"Alright Naruto, you pass! Congratulations!" Iruka said smiling.

"Yeah!" Naruto and his clones cheered.

"Dispel your clones and collect your headband" Iruka said.

While Naruto did that, Mizuki wore his fake smile, but on the inside he was cursing Naruto intensely, _'Dammit! Why'd he have to pass?! Now I'll have to do initiate the plan by myself!'_

* * *

When Naruto left the exam room he was grinning ear-to-ear with his leaf headband already fastened to his forehead.

"I passed!" Naruto cheered.

"That's great Naruto" Hinata said right before hugging him in congratulations and then letting him go quickly, blushing slightly.

"You're next Hinata, by the way… if Mizuki-sensei offers you tea, don't drink it" Naruto whispered the last part.

"Ok, Naruto" Hinata said before entering.

Naruto walked back to his seat while all of Hinata's fanboys glared at him in absolute hatred.

'_How dare he be hugged by Hinata! If she should be hugging anyone it should be me!'_ they all thought.

Naruto ignored the glares and returned to his seat, a minute later, Hinata returned to her seat to with her leaf headband fastened around her neck. She was ecstatic about the fact that she passed.

"I passed Naruto!" Hinata said happily before hugging him again. This time, the hug lasted a good 15 seconds before they felt the angry glares of the fanboys and heard Shikamaru and Choji chuckling.

After that, both promptly separated and blushed profusely.

After that little display, Iruka and Mizuki left the exam room and stood in front of the class.

Iruka spoke up then, "I'm glad to see that you all passed, I'm proud of you all, but remember, this is only the beginning. Starting tomorrow, you all start your ninja careers with the assignment of your Jonin sensei. I'll see you all back here tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. for the assignment of your Jonin sensei, you're dismissed.

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Riku asked when Naruto and Hinata returned.

"Isn't it obvious? We both passed!" Naruto said proudly pointing at both their shinobi headbands.

"I see… I'm glad I did invite both of your friends Shikamaru and Choji over for a graduation party later today. It would have been such a disappointment if you both failed…" Riku said, taunting them a little.

"What, you mean you didn't have faith in us!" Naruto said indignantly.

"Of course I had faith in you! Why else do I have a giant chicken cooking in the oven right now!" Riku said, pointing at the source of the aroma.

"You're actually cooking that?!" Naruto asked, drooling at the aroma that assaulted his nose.

"Yes, and it should be done in just about-" a 'ding' was heard, "now" Riku said.

"Your friends should be here any minute now; if you excuse me… I have to finish making dinner, and I know it has to be big since one of your friends that happen to be running to the front door right now is an Akimichi"

And sure enough, when Hinata opened up the door, Choji was about to barge in since he practically smelled the dinner chicken a mile away.

"Something smells good!" Choji said with an out of breath Shikamaru right behind him.

"*huff* you know…*huff* keeping up with you *huff* is a real drag *pant* Choji" Shikamaru said in exasperation.

Everyone laughed at this, and when dinner was finally ready, it was 5:15 and Choji was starving, which was odd since he spent the entire time between his arrival and dinner eating chips.

When everyone looked at the spread, they were amazed at the food that Riku prepared.

"You made all this Riku?!" Choji asked with his eyes wide.

"Yes, yes I did"

Choji immediately fell to his knees and began rapidly bowing saying, "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! I am scum! I suck!!!" (Scene was inspired by Wayne's World)

"Wow, you must have really outdone yourself if you managed to get Choji to do that" Shikamaru said.

"I guess so, so then, Choji, get off the floor so we can eat, after that, do whatever you want so long as you don't harm or disgrace yourselves" Riku said.

And so they began eating Riku's magnificent feast.

"By the way Riku, I was wondering… how did you get so good at cooking?" Hinata asked.

"The reason I'm so good at cooking is because I get bored whenever you two are at the academy and I don't have missions at the time. So I found some old cook books lying around and started reading, because at that point, I was willing to do anything. I've read those books so many times that I've got all the recipes memorized"

Once Riku was finished talking, his watch started beeping.

"I guess it's my shift to patrol the village, if any of you get in trouble I'll show you guys a little trick I can do with a spoon and a mouse. So I highly suggest you stay out of trouble" Riku said while heading for the door. (The spoon and mouse thing was borrowed from Hektols)

"What does he do with a spoon and a mouse?" Shikamaru asked.

"I don't know, but I don't really want to find out either" Hinata said.

Everyone agreed.

* * *

Mizuki was running frantically, he knew that stealing the Scroll of Forbidden Jutsu wouldn't be easy, but he didn't think that it would be this difficult.

He was now being chased by a squad of ANBU and they were not giving up.

'_Dammit! If I get this to Lord Orochimaru he had better be grateful!'_ Mizuki cursed in his mind.

"It looks like I've got a traitor to catch now…" a voice said from above.

Mizuki looked up to see the blunt side of a crimson colored sword hit him squarely in the face. Mizuki landed on the ground in an ungraceful manner and began coughing up blood.

"One hit and you're already coughing up blood? Man you're weak" the voice now identified as the Trueblade of the Leaf, Riku said.

"Don't taunt me! I'll kill you for getting in my way!" Mizuki yelled at the top of his lungs while brandishing a fuuma shuriken.

"I'd like to see you try! If I'm not impressed, I'll end this on my next attack and permanently end your ninja career" Riku threatened cockily.

Hearing that, Mizuki put the scroll down and brandished his second fuuma shuriken. and then threw them both at him at once yelling, "Die! Uzumaki scum!"

Neither made contact because Riku because he jumped clear above both of them.

"I'm not impressed!" Riku shouted in midair.

Riku brought his sword down and shouted, "Whirlpool Super Sonic Sword Style: Ryu Sui Sen!"

When the attack was finished, Mizuki was literally disarmed and was lying on the ground, screaming in agony and clutching where his left arm used to be.

"You brought this upon yourself; this is what happens to those who betray their village. ANBU! I know you're there, I suggest that you get this traitor to someone that can seal his wound and then send him to Ibiki" Riku called out into the darkness.

Once Riku saw the ANBU appear and grab both Mizuki and the scroll, he left.

* * *

On the way back, Riku ran into a squad of oddly dressed ANBU that seemed adamant about blocking his path.

Then one spoke up and said, "Riku, our master Danzo would like to have a word with you"

"Tell that one-eyed crippled master of yours that I'm not interested and that he is committing high treason for keeping the ROOT ANBU faction active after the 3rd ordered him to disband you guys"

"How dare you speak about Lord Danzo that way, well then, since you refused we have no choice but to take you by force"

"You made a horrible decision choosing to face me on the field of battle! I'm gonna finish you guys in no time!" Riku shouted before jumping above the ROOT ANBU.

"Uzumaki Secret Sword Style: Rain of a Thousand Blades!" Riku cried out before sending a ruthless barrage of blades down upon the ROOTs, killing them instantly.

"Pathetic, if this is all ROOT has then Danzo's idea of the perfect ninja has much to be desired." Riku spat out before returning home.

Little did he know that another member of ROOT saw the whole thing and reported to headquarters.

* * *

When the surviving ROOT ANBU returned to headquarters, he immediately reported to Danzo.

"Well, where is he?" Danzo asked intent on turning the last pure-blooded Uzumaki into his own mindless servant.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to apprehend him, he wiped out our best squad with a single attack, not only that but he seemed to already be aware of the existence of our organization"

"Dammit" Was all Danzo uttered.

* * *

When Riku returned home, he noticed that everyone was already asleep somewhere in the living room.

Shikamaru had the recliner, Choji was asleep on the couch, and Naruto and Hinata had sleeping bags out and were asleep next to each other; but were about three feet away from each other, a little too far away to 'accidently' embrace each other in their sleep. Riku had a light bulb moment and decided to remedy that.

Riku slowly and carefully pushed the two closer to each other until they were touching. At that moment, as if on command, they cutely embraced each other.

Riku chuckled to himself, proud of his work and walked off, only to be interrupted by a lazy Nara.

"Heh, this'll be funny to watch in the morning… why didn't I think of that"

This startled Riku.

"How long have you been awake?"

"I've been awake ever since you opened the front door"

"Well go back to sleep then, you have to wake up early tomorrow" Riku chastised, but his heart wasn't in it.

"ZZZZZZZZZZ"

Riku sweatdropped

"That was fast…"

* * *

**Cut and Print! That's a wrap!**

**Shikamaru: Their reaction in the morning will be well worth waking up for.**

**Riku: I agree Shikamaru, I'm planning on waking up early to prepare my video camera for this! Do you wanna comment on this Choji?**

**Choji: *Munch, Munch, Munch***

**Riku and Shika sweatdrop: **_**No surprise there…**_

**Riku: Please review and Shikamaru won't be forced to use his Shadow Possession Jutsu on you to do it for you.**


	9. Squad 7

**Riku: Shikamaru, say the disclaimer!**

**Shikamaru: What a drag… Riku does not own Naruto, there I said it. Can I go back to sleep now?**

**Riku: No! You're going to be placed in your ninja squad in a few hours so you might as well get up. Oh, by the way, I have my video camera ready. Choji! Do you have the camera prepared?**

**Choji: Yep!**

**Riku: This is gonna be hilarious… *snicker***

Chapter 8: Squad 7

"_This is gold Riku!"_

"_I know! But if I have any hope at saving this recording, I'd better hide this at the first chance I have and start making copies!"_

Hinata was half asleep at the time she heard this and so was Naruto, neither could think coherently yet at the time so neither knew about the position they were in and what the people they couldn't see were talking about.

All Hinata knew at the time was that she was holding onto something warm and that her head was resting against something soft, she was comfortable at the time and that was good enough for the sleep-drunk pre-teen.

Naruto was just as sleep-drunk as Hinata at the moment. All he knew was that he was holding something warm that smelled like lavender at the moment and a comfortable amount of weight was on his left shoulder. He was very comfortable and that was good enough for him right now.

The pair slowly began to think more coherently and opened their eyes, they both realized that what they were holding on was each other and they immediately broke contact upon figuring this out. They both turned their backs to each other, unable to look at each other without blushing more than they already were. Then they both heard laughter, the two turned around and saw Shikamaru laughing more than he ever had before, Choji, laughing just as hard and holding a camera, and Riku, barely containing his laughter and recording the entire moment on camera.

Both Naruto and Hinata then blushed like they had never blushed before, so much blood had rushed to their faces that it couldn't be healthy, not only that, but their face temperatures must have almost reached the point where water boils because steam was coming out of their ears at this point.

Then Riku put down the video camera and said, "Cut, Print, Gold! And now to hide this and make copies before the two 'lovebirds' realize what just happened!" Riku ran off laughing his head off at this point, and the 'lovebirds' quote only intensified Naruto and Hinata's blushes.

* * *

On the way to the academy, Naruto and Hinata were now capable of looking at each other without blushing furiously and were now talking to each other as if the thing that would now be referred to as 'The Incident' never happened. They also made Shikamaru and Choji NEVER, tell a living soul about 'The Incident' , however, they were unable to find Riku and make him promise because he was already gone and left a note saying that he had a meeting with the Hokage and will be back later.

Once they reached the academy with Shikamaru and Choji, they realized that they were the first ones there for once and sat in the front row at the end near the window. Hinata got the window seat while Naruto sat next to her as her anti-fanboy shield while Shikamaru sat behind her as another shield, and Choji sat behind Naruto.

Sasuke was the next to show up, when he realized that he would be able to avoid sitting next to a majority of his fangirls, he sucked up his pride and sat next to Naruto, much to both of their chagrin.

Sakura and Ino were the next two to enter and looked like they were fighting to see who would enter first… and they were. When they realized that they couldn't sit next to Sasuke, Sakura tried to get Naruto to abandon his spot so that she could sit there.

"Naruto, get out of that seat so that I can sit next to Sasuke!" Sakura demanded.

In another day and age, Naruto would have happily complied with her in hopes of getting Sakura to like him, but not in this one. Shortly after Naruto became friends with Hinata, Riku told him a little saying about women and what you should look for in them. He told Naruto that 'A pretty girl is an accessory, while a good one is a treasure', Naruto mulled over that for a bit, and after being shot down rather violently after being told that, he realized that even if she did have some good looks, she was a complete bitch and wasn't worth his time.

"No, I was her first and you have no right to kick me out of my seat" Naruto said, refusing Sakura's demand.

Sakura blew up in Naruto's face at this point, "WHAT?!!! Why you little…" Sakura screeched, causing everyone to wince from the loudness of her voice while she prepared to clock Naruto. Only for Hinata to hit all the tenketsus in Sakura's arm, causing it to go limp.

Then Hinata spoke up, "I would appreciate it if you would kindly shut up and sit somewhere else Sakura, and don't you dare try to hurt one of my friends again!" Hinata said coldly while glaring at Sakura. (She has DEFINITELY gotten out of her shell)

Sakura was stunned by Hinata's assertion and walked to the next seat closest to Sasuke, since Ino claimed the one behind Sasuke; she sat in the one across the aisle to Sasuke's right.

Sasuke was fascinated by Hinata's display seconds ago and at that point, decided that he will do whatever it takes to get to know her.

Once the rest of the class filed into the room for the last time, Iruka entered and after saying a few words, began assigning squads. After a few minutes, Iruka finally reached squad 7.

"Squad 7 will be Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata, and Naruto Uzumaki, your Jonin sensei will be Kakashi Hatake" Iruka announced.

"Yeah! We're on the same team Hinata!" Naruto cheered.

"This is great Naruto!" Hinata replied while smiling and blushing.

'_I'm not thrilled about the loser being on my team, but that former Hyuga is a different story…'_ Sasuke thought.

All of Sasuke's fangirls glared at Hinata, while all of Hinata's fanboys glared at Naruto and Sasuke.

While all this happened, Iruka continued on, "Squad 8 will be Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Sakura Haruno, your Jonin sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi"

Sakura slammed her head down at this, _'Great… I'm stuck with bug-boy and dog-breath…'_ Sakura thought in despair.

Iruka still continued, "Squad 9 is still in circulation at the time so nobody will be assigned to that one, and Squad 10 will be Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka, your Jonin sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi."

After the squad assignments were over, the new Genin were dismissed for lunch and were to return after lunch to meet their Jonin sensei.

* * *

Sasuke managed to dodge his fangirls to track down Hinata in hopes of convincing her to go on a quick date with her. He eventually succeeded in finding her having lunch with Naruto.

Sasuke approached them and spoke up, "Hey, Hinata, would you be interested in ditching the loser and joining me for lunch?" Sasuke rudely asked in his usual Uchihas-are-the-best voice.

"Not a chance Sasuke, I'm not ditching Naruto. However, you are welcome to join us" Hinata said.

"I might not be thrilled with it, but since we're going to be on the same squad, we might as well swallow our pride and at least learn to put up with each other" Naruto said, clearly not thrilled with the fact that he had Sasuke in his squad.

'_Hn, I might as well take this one step at a time… but it doesn't mean that I'll like putting up with the dead-last loser'_, "Hn" the noise Sasuke when he sat down near Hinata.

And so lunch continued, Sasuke somewhat got his wish and got to know Hinata at least a little bit while Naruto and Hinata got to know the anti-social Uchiha a little bit, and they both already decided that he needed an attitude adjustment.

* * *

Once they all got back, everyone waited for their Jonin sensei to arrive. After a few minutes, everyone's sensei showed up, with the exception of Squad 7's.

2 hours passed since, Kakashi was supposed to show up and he finally arrived.

Kakashi wore a standard Jonin uniform, vest and all, with the exception of his blue mask covering up his face and his headband slanted to cover up his left eye. Leaving only his right eye visible, and he also had a bizarre silver-haired haircut as well. He was reading an orange book when he showed up. He looked up at his team, Naruto was sound asleep, Hinata was trying to wake him up, and Sasuke looked very put out and was glaring at Kakashi.

"Hmmm, on my first impression… I hate you; meet me up on the roof in 5 minutes" And with that, Kakashi used a body flicker jutsu to go to the roof.

* * *

Once all of Squad 7 was on the roof, Kakashi spoke up.

"Well then, since we're all going to be on the same team for a while, why don't we all introduce ourselves" Kakashi said while doing his signature eye-smile.

"Why don't you start Kakashi-sensei, so you can give us an example" Hinata asked.

"Since you asked so nicely, sure. My name is Kakashi Hatake; I have some likes and dislikes, you don't really need to know about my hobbies, and I don't feel like telling you about my dreams. Alright then Blondie, you're up next."

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were all stared at him with looks that clearly said 'you've got to be kidding me' while sweat dropping at the same time and collectively thought, _'all he really told us was his name…'_

Naruto then started up, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! My likes are my Uncle Riku, my best friend Hinata, ramen, and training; my dislikes are the time it takes to cook ramen and people that look down upon others just simply because they believe that their better than others, my hobbies are training and hanging out with my friends, and my dream is to become the greatest Hokage to ever live!" Naruto said with enthusiasm while Hinata looked at him with admiration.

"Alright then, White Eyes, you're up next" Kakashi said.

"My name is Hinata, my likes are Naruto, his Uncle Riku, and cinnamon rolls; my dislikes are people that hurt others for no reason and I detest the Hyuga Clan, my hobbies are flower pressing and hanging out with Naruto and his friends, and my dream is to prove that the Hyuga Clan made a deadly mistake by kicking me and watch it slowly destroy itself with its own despicable traditions, and… umm… and…" looks at Naruto and blushes.

(A/N. Hinata pretty much hates the Hyuga Clan for kicking her out at this point and will obviously never forgive it and its elders, her own father included because let's face it, what the Hyuga Clan did was unforgivable.)

Sasuke looks at Hinata and realizes what she's thinking (He's not as dense as Naruto), _'So she likes the dead-last loser… I take back what I thought about her… she might not be as bad as the fangirls, but if she can like a loser like him… then she isn't worth my time'_

"I see… alright Broody your next" Kakashi said pointing at Sasuke.

"Hn… I'm Sasuke Uchiha, I don't like much, and I dislike just about everything, I don't have any hobbies, and my dream is more of an ambition… to revive my clan and kill a certain someone…" Sasuke brooded.

'_Well, Naruto and Hinata aren't so bad and have quite a bit of promise, Sasuke on the other hand is gonna need some work…'_

"Alright then, I'll meet you three at Training Ground 7 to give you the true Genin test" Kakashi said.

"Wait, what do you mean TRUE Genin test, what was the one at the academy for then?" Naruto asked.

"That one was just to weed out those who had no hope for becoming a ninja, the real Genin test is administered by the Jonin sensei themselves, are we clear on this?"

"Yes sensei"

"Good, now I'll see you all at Training Ground 7 at 8:00, oh and don't eat breakfast, you'll just throw up" Kakashi body flickered away at this point. The three walked away at this point, shivering at what Kakashi had in store for them.

* * *

With Riku

Riku was at the Hokage office, wondering what Sarutobi wanted him for.

"Riku, in case you are wondering what I summoned you for, it's because there have been some disturbing developments in the Rice Field Country, it seems that it has been reformed and is now known as the Sound Country. But that isn't the most disturbing part" Sarutobi said grimly.

"Then what is?" Riku asked.

"The most disturbing part is that my old student Orochimaru is behind it and formed a hidden village during the country's reformation, and as you know, the Chunin Exams are only a few months away…"

"He's going to use the Exams to sneak into the village" Riku deduced.

"That's a likely possibility, but we don't know for sure. The possibilities can range from kidnapping a promising young ninja so he can sway him or her over to his side, to assassinating me"

"So where does this involve me?" Riku asked, more grim and serious than ever before.

"In the likelihood that Orochimaru does infiltrate the village to assassinate me during the exams, I'm asking you to be my personal bodyguard during the entirety of the Chunin Exams" Sarutobi asked.

"Why me?" Riku asked.

"Isn't it obvious? You're an S-Class ninja, just like Orochimaru, not only that, but I'm getting on in years and I probably no longer have the strength to face off against Orochimaru and live. That's why I'm asking for your help, if worst comes to worst and I have to face off against Orochimaru, I want you to finish him if I can't" Sarutobi pleaded.

"Alright then, I'll do it, besides, I was planning on killing that snake pedophile eventually anyway"

"Thank you"

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**Kakashi: Well Riku, it looks like you've got a big job ahead of you**

**Riku: I know, but since there's a good chance of me killing that snake pedophile, I'm glad I took the job!**

**Kakashi: If you say so… (Looks at readers and activates Sharingan) You will review and comment this chapter by clicking on the green button below and typing down your opinion… and while you're at it, can any of you get me Jiraiya's autograph for me?**


	10. Bell Test

**Naruto: Finally! An update!**

**Riku: It wasn't THAT long Naruto. There are actually a lot of stories that take an entire MONTH to update. This is nothing compared to those stories.**

**Hinata: Riku's right Naruto… Please, calm down. *fidgets with index fingers***

**Naruto: *sigh* Alright… so, who's doing the disclaimer?**

**Riku: Me, I do not own Naruto, however, I do have custody of him in this fic…**

**Hinata: You also have custody of me too…**

**Riku: That's right! Now clean your room!**

**Hinata: It's already clean…**

**Riku: Umm… Then help Naruto clean HIS room, it's probably a warzone right now**

**Hinata: Alright…**

**Naruto: My room's not THAT bad…**

**Riku: Then please explain the bowls of cup ramen and clothing articles lying around your room.**

**Naruto: …**

**Riku: I thought as much, now get going!**

**Naruto: Alright… (Follows Hinata to his warzone of a room to attempt to pull off an almost impossible task) **_**'Hmm… this will be a lot easier if I used Shadow Clones… and since Riku just recently taught me how to use them…'**_

**Riku: And NO Shadow Clones**

**Naruto: AWW COME ON!**

**Riku: *Chuckles* (Looks at audience) Winter break has just recently begun for the author… so anyone that visited his profile knows what that means... The crossover is now up! So please, at least take a look at it before dismissing it as trash.**

(A/N: Warning - There is an extensive amount of Sasuke bashing in this chapter, you have been warned.)

* * *

Chapter 9: Bell Test

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were waiting for their sensei to show up for the past two hours. Naruto chose to use that time to catch up on his sleep after the first half hour, while Hinata watched him adoringly. Sasuke just brooded; thinking who knows what, one of them would be him wondering how Hinata could like an annoying dead-last loser like Naruto.

Naruto was now dressed for combat, he wore a dim-dark orange jacket similar to his uncle's, with a solid black T-shirt underneath it with a fishnet shirt underneath his T-shirt. He also wore slightly-baggy dark blue long ninja pants with an orange stripe running up the sides and a kunai holster strapped on his right thigh, and blue ninja sandals. He also had his reverse-blade sword sheathed while the sheath was hooked onto his belt.

Hinata was also dressed for combat, she wore the lavender jacket with the Uzumaki swirl that Naruto got her on her first birthday with the Uzumaki's with a fishnet shirt underneath. She also had standard issue form fitting kunoichi's pants that reached her shins and had her kunai holster strapped onto her right thigh as well, and wore blue ninja sandals. She also brought her reverse-blade sword with her; however, she had it strapped onto her back with the hilt peeking over her right shoulder.

Sasuke wore the same style clothing he was wearing yesterday with no color change at all (Same thing he wore in the Anime/Manga).

Once their waiting hit the two hour mark, Kakashi finally decided to show up by using the body flicker technique to appear on one of the training stumps.

Kakashi was doing one of his signature eye-smiles and introduced himself by simply saying, "Yo!"

Hinata managed to rouse Naruto just in time for him to notice that Kakashi finally showed up for him to shout out, "You're late!" while pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi.

Kakashi put his hands out in front of himself defensively and said, "Sorry, but a herd of black cats crossed my path on my way here so I had to take the long way, and while I was taking the long way around, I helped an old lady cross the street while avoiding a group of ladders and mirrors that were precariously placed in the street for some reason. Then I saw a building on fire and just had to save a young woman that was trapped inside, the girl was so grateful that she treated me to breakfast, and not one to refuse, I accepted, I thanked her for the meal when I was done eating, and got lost on the road of life when I left the diner."

All three of Kakashi's students sweat dropped and looked at him with looks that clearly said, _'What the hell? Does he actually expect us to believe that?'_

"Well, anyway, I believe that it's time to get the true Genin test started." Kakashi said while taking two bells from his ninja pouch and an alarm, he set the alarm and said, "See these bells? In order to pass, you must each take at least one of them from me to pass. If you don't get one by the time this timer goes off in 3 hours, you fail and will be tied to one of those posts there while I eat my lunch in front of you, and you'll also be sent back to the academy for remedial training" Kakashi explained.

"Why are there only two bells Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked.

"That's so that even if two of you manage to get a bell, at least one of you will be tied up and be sent back to the academy."

Sasuke glared at Kakashi, determined to pass, even if it meant killing his sensei.

Naruto and Hinata on the other hand, looked thoughtful, as if they were looking for a hidden meaning in what Kakashi said. Both of their faces brightened in realization a few seconds later and both smirked confidently, knowing the true meaning of the test.

'_Well, it looks like I was right about those two, they've already figured it out… Sasuke on the other hand is still clueless, and it doesn't look like he's even trying to look underneath the underneath'_ Kakashi mused.

"You may use any weapon and ninja tool you have in your arsenal to get these bells. Also, if you actually have any intention of retrieving these bells, then you'll have to come at me with the intent to kill" Kakashi added.

With that being said, Naruto and Hinata brought their swords out and got into their attack positions, while Sasuke got into his own fighting stance.

Then Kakashi spoke up again, "Good to know you're ready to fight, on my mark then. Ready... GO!"

All three Genin took off to hide and search for an opening to attack.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata hid behind the trees near each other to devise a battle plan. While Sasuke hid in the trees on his own to wait for an opening on his own.

"Okay, so what's the plan Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"Well… since we both already know that Sasuke probably won't accept the idea of teamwork, we'll be on our own and will just simply have to hope that that jerk will pick up on the plan and attack when he sees an opening" Naruto explained.

"I hope so… And I agree with you, he is a jerk. So, how are we going to attack?" Hinata asked.

"I'll start by having my Shadow Clones launch Dou Ryu Sen's at Kakashi-sensei from the forest, forcing him to dodge in the direction of the river. That's where you come in Hinata, while Kakashi-sensei is dodging; you sneak up and cut the bells off of his belt and retreat, or at least try to. If he actually falls for this, then he probably doesn't deserve to be a Jonin" Naruto devised.

"You're definitely right there"

"But we should still try this anyway, I have a feeling that this test is really about showing that we can work as a team, not get the bells" Naruto said.

"I agree with you on that Naruto, this is a ninja test after all. That means that there is always going to be a hidden meaning somewhere along the rules" Hinata said.

"Well then, let's get this show on the road!" Naruto slightly cheered.

"Right!" Hinata agreed while quickly nodding her head.

* * *

Meanwhile, while the two were devising a plan, a Shadow Clone of Kakashi observed their interaction.

'_At least they understand the meaning of this test… now let's see how Sasuke's doing…'_

Sasuke was hiding in the same tree he was hiding in when the test started, watching Kakashi for any sudden movements… there were none, with the exception of him turning the page of his orange book.

'_This is ridiculous! He's just reading a book while I could attack at any second! I think it's time I taught him to take me seriously"_ Sasuke thought.

Sasuke drew as many shuriken and kunai as he could hold, and then threw them all at Kakashi with deadly accuracy… and they hit! At least, that's what Sasuke thought until he found out that Kakashi used a substitution to replace himself with a log.

'_Shit!' _Sasuke thought, _'Now he knows where I am! I have to hide somewhere else before he finds me!'_

The real Kakashi observed Sasuke from a distance sighing in disappointment.

'_He still doesn't know the true meaning of the test…'_

While Kakashi sent a Shadow Clone to deal with Sasuke, he was about to send another to look for Naruto and Hinata when he heard Naruto's voice shout out in surround sound, "Whirlpool Super Sonic Sword Style: Do Ryu Sen!"

Kakashi looked around to see shockwaves shot towards him along the ground, kicking up earth in every direction except the river.

'_He's luring me towards the river, quite effectively too. This is obviously a trap. Nice try Naruto, but there is one flaw here, I can escape by jumping over the attack!'_ Kakashi thought.

Kakashi then did just as he thought; he jumped into the air to avoid the Do Ryu Sen. Only to hear Naruto's voice in surround sound again, with Hinata's added too.

"Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet!"

"Water Style: Water Bullet!"

Kakashi noticed then that Naruto had a backup plan, one that was even harder to dodge than the original. Kakashi found out that he was trapped; Air Bullets were being shot at him from the forest, and a Water Bullet coming at him from Hinata on the river. So Kakashi did the only thing he could do at the time… use the Substitution Technique to escape.

When Kakashi was out of harm's way, he let out a sigh of relief and put his book away. He put his book away and began to search for Naruto and Hinata.

'_I could probably deal with Sasuke easily while reading a book, but not these two. They really know how to work as a team and clearly aren't slouches alone as well. All they really need to do now to get my seal of approval is to at least __ask__ Sasuke to work with them. It really wouldn't be fair if I had to fail them just because Sasuke refused to work with them… Well, time to find them before they find me' _Kakashi thought.

* * *

With Sasuke

Sasuke found Kakashi waiting for him in another clearing and chose to confront him head on.

"Well, you seem to prefer the direct approach don't you Sasuke? Shouldn't you be trying to find your teammates? They might be able to help you…" Kakashi said, hoping Sasuke would get the message.

Unfortunately, Kakashi's hint fell on deaf ears, "Hn, I don't need those losers' help! I can get those bells on my own! Those two will only hold me back!" Sasuke said, getting in a taijutsu stance.

"Alright then, I guess it's time to show you shinobi tactic #1, Taijutsu!" Kakashi said as Sasuke charged him.

Sasuke started his attack by launching a kick with his left foot. Kakashi grabbed it, only for Sasuke to pivot by planting a hand on the ground and sending another kick with his right foot. That one was caught too, and then Sasuke saw his chance and reached for the bells. Kakashi noticed this and pushed Sasuke away to keep him from the bells. Sasuke then somersaulted backwards and then went through a few hand signs, when he was done, he shouted out, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" and then breathed out a large ball of fire at Kakashi. When Sasuke was done he smirked, believing that he landed a decent hit on his sensei, only for him to notice that his sensei was nowhere to be found when the smoke cleared.

'_Damn, he escaped… now where did he go? Up, down, left, right… behind…'_ Sasuke thought when looking for Kakashi. He then heard the earth below him give way, and then saw two hands grab onto his ankles and heard his sensei call out, "Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"

Sasuke was then dragged under until only his head was above the ground. Then Kakashi jumped out of the ground and eye-smiled at him and punned, "Well, it looks you are now a head above your peers Sasuke! Well at least you know shinobi tactic #3: Ninjutsu" Kakashi just chuckled and then body flickered away, leaving Sasuke to fume over his defeat.

* * *

With Hinata

Hinata was currently looking for Sasuke with her Byakugan, knowing that if they were to have any hope of getting the bells. Every single person on the team had to swallow their pride and work together.

However, she then noticed an odd fluctuation of chakra around her and what looked like an injured Naruto limping towards her. She immediately realized that it was a genjutsu and dispelled it, shouting out, "Release!"

Kakashi then appeared and said, "Shinobi tactic #2: Genjutsu, I'm glad I don't need to teach how to dispel it to you Hinata" Kakashi eye smiled and vanished into a puff of smoke before Hinata could react.

'_I need to convince Sasuke to work with Naruto and me or we're all going to fail!'_ Hinata thought.

* * *

With Naruto

Naruto was doing the same thing Hinata is doing, looking for Sasuke. He just caught his trail when Kakashi appeared before him.

"Well, it looks like it's just you and me at the moment Naruto… What are you going to do about this?"

"Considering that even if I was twice as strong as I am now, I still wouldn't be a match for you. The only options I have right now are; attack until this Shadow Clone of yours dispels, or escape and get everyone on the team to attack as one to get the bells from the real you" Naruto said.

"So, you already know that this is a Shadow Clone, I admit that that is impressive considering that you don't have any visual jutsu" Kakashi praised.

"Not really, I just took a guess after one of my Shadow Clones saw you make Shadow Clones" Naruto said.

"Well anyway, let's get back to the test. I believe my job is to keep you from getting the bells"

"And my job is to take them from you!" Naruto said, drawing his reverse-blade sword, "I believe that since you already demonstrated shinobi tactics 1 through 3, I suppose it falls on me to teach shinobi tactic #4: Kenjutsu! Let's see you dodge this Kakashi-sensei, Whirlpool Super Sonic Sword Style: Ryu Son Sen!"

Kakashi thought that he dodged enough to avoid being cut, until he noticed that the rapid sword slashes were charged with wind chakra, increasing the range of attack and therefore, catching Kakashi's Shadow Clone off guard and dispelling it.

'_I have to find Sasuke and convince him to work as a team with Hinata and me, or we're all going to fail!'_

The real Kakashi saw the whole thing and said thought, _'This is interesting… he's only a Genin to be and he has the ability and quite possibly knowledge of a Chunin, and Hinata is probably near or on par with him too! Even if they do fail because of Sasuke, I may just take them on as my apprentices anyway…'_

* * *

With Sasuke

Sasuke finally dug himself out of the hole Kakashi dragged him into when Kakashi approached him again and asked, "Do you still think that you can take the bells on your own, I personally believe that you need backup if you are to have any hope of passing"

"I DON'T need any help! I can do this on my own!" Sasuke snapped while Kakashi mentally sighed in exasperation.

'_Great… now I've made him angry, he'll never find out the truth of the test in time now…'_

"You're toast!" Sasuke shouted while signing and shouting, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

Sasuke shot a barrage of small fireballs at Kakashi, only for him to appear behind him with a tiger seal signed and said, "You shouldn't let the enemy get behind you, Hidden Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu!" And then he rammed the tiger seal into Sasuke's ass and then shouted, "A Thousand Years of Death!" Sasuke was then painfully shot into the forest comically while screaming out in pain and clutching his rumpus.

Naruto saw the whole thing and did everything he could to keep himself from laughing hysterically… and failed miserably.

Hinata also saw Sasuke get hit with a thousand years of death, and giggled at Sasuke's misfortune.

Once both Naruto and Hinata were done laughing at Sasuke's misery, they went over to the crash site to see Sasuke nursing his rump and grumbling about one-eyed ninjas and how he's going to wipe them all out.

"It looks like you're in need of some help" Naruto said from the tree he chose to perch on.

"I don't need your help loser! You'll only hold me back!" Sasuke shouted out with venom in his voice.

"Don't insult Naruto! And Naruto happens to be right you know, none of us even so much as landed a hit on him. While when Naruto and I worked as a team earlier, we managed to momentarily corner him, and would have managed to at least hit Kakashi-sensei if he didn't use a Substitution Jutsu to escape at the last second" Hinata lectured.

"Hn, maybe so, but I was working perfectly fine on my own! I almost got my hands on a bell earlier, so I definitely don't need either of your help in this test. You both will only hold me back! I'm an Uchiha, an elite! I don't need help from the likes of you!" Sasuke snapped.

"You're not even bothering to look underneath the underneath in this test are you, Sasuke?!" Naruto yelled.

"What the hell are you talking about loser?! Just let me do this by myself and leave me alone you Dead-Last Failure!" Sasuke roared.

'_He's hopeless… and because of that, we're screwed…' _Both Naruto and Hinata thought at the same time while one or both of their eyes twitched in suppressed anger.

Sasuke stormed off, in search of Kakashi, hoping to get his hands on a bell on his own, before time runs out.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata just stood in the clearing Sasuke left them in with disappointed looks on their faces; also knowing that Kakashi saw the whole thing.

"He's hopeless, isn't he Hinata… Kakashi-sensei" Naruto said, pointing out that he was well aware of Kakashi's presence.

"You can come out now Kakashi-sensei… the lost cause isn't in earshot anymore" Hinata said, deactivating her Byakugan.

Kakashi jumped out of the tree he concealed himself in.

"Yo!" Kakashi said, raising his right hand and eye-smiling.

"So what happens now?" Naruto asks, "The test is clearly meant to see if we can work as a team, and Hinata and I are definitely capable of it."

Hinata continues, "However, because none of us has gotten a bell, and only Naruto and I have demonstrated the use of teamwork. We technically fail when the alarm goes off because Sasuke hasn't demonstrated the use of teamwork or even the desire to work as a team. So as a whole, we would fail because of it."

Kakashi decided to answer the question, "Well then, I suppose your only hope at this point is to actually get the bells."

Naruto sighed in exasperation, "Then we're screwed… none of us has any hope of taking them from you by force Kakashi-sensei…"

Hinata had a light bulb moment upon hearing Naruto's words, "If we can't take them by force, then all that's left is this… Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked by calling his name.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Can we please have the bells?" Hinata asked sweetly.

"Sure, here you go!" Kakashi said while throwing the bells to Naruto and Hinata.

Naruto and Hinata caught the bells while Naruto looked at Kakashi in a quizzical fashion.

"That seemed a little too easy… Is this a trap of some sort?" Naruto asked.

"No it isn't, but I'm glad you kept your mind open to that possibility. You see, the reason why I chose to give you two the bells was because after seeing the two of you in action. I know that you two don't deserve to fail, the two of you did everything you were expected and supposed to do, and that was to work as a team. Which you did earlier when you did that Shadow Cloned shockwave technique thing, followed up by those elemental bullets. Although I'm guessing that the original plan was to lure me to Hinata, who was hiding near the water so she could cut one or both bells off with her sword, and then just simply play keep-away until the clock runs out. Am I right?"

"Yeah, pretty much" Naruto said.

Then Kakashi continued, "The two of you also looked underneath the underneath, and figured out what the test was really about right from the start, something that the 'almighty' Sasuke Uchiha and every other person I tested didn't do. So I'm proud to say that you two passed" Kakashi said while eye-smiling.

"Awesome!" Naruto said hyperactively, yet still reserved just enough to make sure Sasuke didn't hear him.

"Naruto, we might have passed, but we should still give Sasuke one more chance. He had one chance when Kakashi-sensei told him that he would have a better chance if he had our help, and another one when we asked him to work as a team with us. We should give him at least one more chance" Hinata said.

"Alright, we'll go by the 3-strikes-you're-out rule" Naruto groaned, inwardly thinking that Hinata can be a little too nice towards people at times.

"Just remember that you only have 5 minutes left in the test, if you can't change Sasuke's mind by then, he fails" Kakashi warned.

"Don't worry; it wouldn't be that big a loss anyway…" Naruto said, mumbling the last part.

Hinata however, heard him anyway, "I have to agree with you there… it really wouldn't be that big a loss, but we should still give him one last chance" Hinata said.

* * *

Sasuke was so furious that he couldn't see straight anymore, Kakashi was making a mockery of him and Naruto and Hinata weren't making things any better for him.

'_Tch, stupid Kakashi-sensei, stupid loser, stupid bitch, who needs them, the only one out of all of them I need right now is Kakashi, and that's only until I surpass him, and since I'm an Uchiha that'll happen in no time. I WILL pass this test, and I WILL do it on my own. The other two will only hold me back!'_ Sasuke ranted internally.

Sasuke's internal rant was then interrupted by Naruto and Hinata entering the clearing.

Naruto was the first to speak up, "You're still plan on doing this all on your own you?" Naruto more stated than asked.

"Of course you loser! I don't need your help and I never will! I definitely don't need the help of that former Hyuga bitch either! So why don't you just make out with her and leave me alone!" Sasuke ranted angrily.

Hinata blushed so much that her face looked like a white-eyed tomato at the concept of her making out with Naruto.

While Naruto on the other hand didn't hear the last part of Sasuke's rant because at that point, he was glaring at Sasuke angrily for insulting Hinata. Naruto was glaring at Sasuke so intensely that if looks could kill, Sasuke would be pushing up daisies. However, before Naruto could talk back or draw his sword and beat the living daylights out of Sasuke, the alarm rung, signaling the end of the test.

"Tch, thanks a lot idiots! Because of you two, we're all being sent back to the academy!" Sasuke roared in anger at Naruto and a still blushing Hinata that was lost in her own little world right now.

"Suuuure, keep telling yourself that bastard" Naruto retorted.

* * *

When the 'team' of three made it back to the post section of the training ground, Sasuke found himself tied to a post while Naruto, Hinata, and Kakashi looked at him in disappointment.

"I expected better out of you Sasuke when I read the reports I was given of you, claiming that you were a genius and everything. I expected you to be able to figure the true meaning of this test on the spot and pass like Naruto and Hinata here" Kakashi lectured.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke shouted out in anger.

"What I meant was that you should have been able to figure out right from the start that this test is about both looking underneath the underneath, and teamwork! You didn't do either! While Naruto and Hinata on the other hand did both! If you did what they did you would have passed too!" Kakashi berated.

"What are you talking about?! They don't have the bells!"

"Actually, we do idiot" Naruto said while he and Hinata held their bells out, rubbing their victory in Sasuke's face.

"How did you get them? I demand that you tell me!" Sasuke shouted at the top of his lungs.

"They got them because they proved that they deserve them" Kakashi stated bluntly.

"How the hell do they deserve the bells more than me? If there's anyone that deserves to pass it would be me!" Sasuke protested.

"Really Sasuke? Tell me, did you do anything that the test really required? Did you? I didn't think so. All that was required was to look underneath the underneath to figure out the true meaning of the test and then work as a team to prove that you are capable of working as one! Naruto and Hinata literally gave you two golden opportunities you could have used to pass, and rejected them both! As far as I'm concerned, I believe that none of you should go back to the academy."

Sasuke smirked for a moment, believing that he was going to pass.

"You should drop from the shinobi program altogether Sasuke, while I file a request to take Naruto and Hinata on as my apprentices."

"WHAT! THAT'S REDICULOUS! THERE IS NO WAY I CAN ACCEPT THAT! I HAVE TO PASS! I HAVE TO BECOME A NINJA SO I CAN GAIN THE POWER TO DEFEAT ITACHI!!!" Sasuke roared.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, but a shinobi that can't work as a team with his squad is just dead weight, that's why you fai-"

Before Kakashi could finish, he was interrupted by an ANBU ninja landing next to him to give him a message.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Kakashi, but I have a message for you that can't wait"

"Well then let's hear it" Kakashi said.

The ANBU whispered something in Kakashi's ear that clearly upset him because of the expression that was visible in his only visible eye.

"What?! They can't do that!" Kakashi whispered in a voice loud enough for everyone in earshot to hear, which just so happened to be everyone.

"I'm sorry sir, but neither you nor I can override the council, if I could I already would have" the ANBU responded before he disappeared.

"*Sigh* alright everyone, all three of you are to report to this field tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. for training, and don't think that I'll let you off the hook just because the Council saved your ninja career Sasuke, I'm going to put you through hell until working as a team with your squad is as natural a breathing to you" Kakashi said menacingly.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at 9:00 then sensei!" Naruto said while taking off with Hinata in the direction of home, upset on the inside that he'll have to put up with Sasuke, but still happy that he and Hinata passed.

Kakashi just laughed at Naruto and Hinata's antics before leaving himself.

Sasuke was glad that he got to continue on as a ninja, but now had something else to deal with… freeing himself from the rope bind Kakashi put him in.

"… WILL SOMEBODY GET THEIR LAZY ASSES OVER HERE AND UNTIE ME?!!!" Sasuke shouted out.

* * *

**End of Chapter!**

**Riku: I'm not going to be making an appearance for a bit am I?**

**Author: Not any major ones! You might appear for a little bit in the next few chapters, but you won't be doing anything major until the Chunin Exam Arc.**

**Riku: Awww… that sucks… by the way, who am I going to be paired with! Please! Don't let it be Anko! She scares me beyond all reason! She's a complete sadist!**

**Author: Don't worry, it's not her, she isn't even going to making all that many appearances anyway. I don't exactly have many appearances scheduled for her past the Chunin Exam Arc anyway, if any at all.**

**Asuma: It better not be Kurenai… if it is, I will kill you here and now!**

**Hayate: Same goes with Yuuago**

**Author: I don't mess with pairings that I know are clearly cannon and don't disagree with. So would you kindly put your chakra knives and katanas away?**

**(Asuma & Hayate walk away with Hayate coughing and avoiding Asuma's smoke)**

**Author: I also plan on sparign Hayate's life just because I can**

**Riku: Who saves his life? Is it me?**

**Author: Of course! **

**Riku: You still didn't tell me who I'm paired with! At least give me a hint!**

**Author: Alright, alright, she appears in the Search for Tsunade Arc!**

**Riku: Please don't tell me that I'm paired with Tsunade! She's almost twice my age and is an old hag!**

**Tsunade: I HEARD THAT!!! (Chases after Riku who is now running for his life)**

**Author: Way to piss off someone that can send you on a one way trip to the moon, and don't worry, it's not her because that would be kinda scary.**

**(Riku doesn't answer because he's too busy escaping Tsunade's wrath and shouting apologies)**

**Shizune: You do realize that that just narrows things down to me right? **

**Author: Whoops! You don't mind do you?**

**Shizune: Not really, (_'Riku definitely fits the bill in what I look for in a man; he's got looks, charm, he's definitely loyal, clearly good with kids because of Naruto and Hinata, sense of humor... check, strong... check, caring... check, etc.'_) could I say the final lines in this extra?**

**Author: Go ahead**

**Shizune: Please review, or I'll tell Tsunade that you said that she's an old hag!**

**Ton-Ton: Oink!**

**Shizune: Hey! I'm supposed to say the last line! Not you Ton-Ton!**


	11. CRanked Mission

**Riku: We're back!**

**Naruto: Finally!**

**Riku: It wasn't that long…**

**Hinata: It was a little by your standards…**

**Riku: The author and I are juggling 5 and soon to be 6 stories at a time and one of them has regretfully been but on hiatus until one of us gets struck by inspiration, so cut us some slack! The author has a life too you know! If he didn't then there would be at least an update a day, but he does have a life, so therefore, there will not be an update a day. Just be grateful that these stories will be updated faster than most others alright.**

**Naruto: I guess so…**

**Riku: Hinata, say the disclaimer.**

**Hinata: The author does not own Naruto (But I will someday…).**

**Naruto: Hinata, it looked like you were deep in thought. What's up?**

**Hinata: N-nothing! Nothing at all! (Panics slightly)**

**Naruto: Okay then…**

**Riku: **_**'As oblivious as ever I see…'**_

* * *

Chapter 10: C-Rank Mission

"Alright team, time to check in. What's the target's status?"

"This is Blondie, it's in the clearing. I'm 12 feet north from the target."

"This is Moon Eyes, I'm 16 feet south from the target."

"This is Chicken-Butt, I'm 5 feet east from the target, and I hate the nickname I was given!"

"Alright then, since you're the closest Chicken-Butt, you go first"

"*Sigh* Alright then…"

Sasuke (A.K.A. Chicken-Butt) pounced onto the target that was known as 'Tora', only for it to run south.

"It's headed in your direction Hinata! Now's your chance!" Naruto said through the radio.

"Alright!"

Hinata then went out of her hiding place and knelt down on the path in front of the cat and opened her arms for it to jump into while saying, "here kitty, kitty, kitty." Which it gladly did, and when Hinata stood up, Tora the cat was happily purring in Hinata's arms while she pets her.

"Tora has been captured, we're ready to return" Hinata reported in.

"Good work, we'll meet back at the Hokage tower" Kakashi replied.

* * *

When the group made it back to the Hokage tower, Tora was handed back over to the Daimyo's wife, much to the cat's chagrin. Needless to say, the cat looked at Hinata with a betrayed look in its eyes while Hinata just whispered, 'sorry' to the poor creature.

When the Daimyo's wife left with the psychotic cat, the Hokage spoke up, "Well then, it looks like we've got time to give you one more mission for you today, we still have…" the Hokage went through a list of D-Rank missions that all seemed like chores to the team.

"How about none of the above?" Sasuke said when the Hokage was done.

"Pardon?" the Hokage replied.

"All of these 'missions' seem more like chores to me, I think we're more than ready for something a little more challenging than this" Sasuke said, sounding somewhat conceited.

"Well, what do you think Kakashi? Do you think that they're ready yet?" the Hokage asked.

"Well, Sasuke's ability to work with the others as a team has greatly improved in the past three weeks… I suppose we'll give it a shot" Kakashi said.

"Finally!" Naruto burst out while Hinata smiled slightly and Sasuke smirked conceitedly.

"However, if I deem the group's collective teamwork inadequate by the end of the mission, then all three of you will be stuck with D-Rank missions for half a year with no right to complain. Are we clear on this?" Kakashi added.

"Yes!" the team replied, glad to finally receive a mission that was a lot more of a challenge.

"Well then, it seems like we'll be taking on a C-Rank mission then" Kakashi said.

"Are you sure about this Kakashi?" the Hokage asked.

"Yes, the group's teamwork has greatly improved since we first started; I think we can handle this"

"Okay then, I believe I have a C-Rank mission here that should provide a bit of a challenge… there's a bridge builder by the name of Tazuna that's returning to the Land of Waves to finish a bridge that requested ninja guards in case there are bandit any bandit attacks" the Hokage explained. "Please escort the bridge builder to my office" the Hokage said to a ninja that was positioned near the door.

"Yes sir" the ninja replied as he left to find the bridge builder.

A few minutes later, the same ninja returned with a drunken man, "Here he is sir, I found him at a local bar drinking" the ninja said while exiting.

The most likely drunk bridge builder walked up to Team 7 and said, "This is the team that's supposed to be guarding me? They're just a bunch of kids!" He also continued to rant, saying that he might as well be babysitting them instead of letting them guard him, along with many other things that won't go into detail.

Naruto and Sasuke had murderous looks on their faces, and Hinata retained a passive look on her face, but there were multiple tick marks that were appearing on the back of her head for each insult thrown in Naruto and hers direction.

However, before anyone was harmed physically, Kakashi stepped forward to prevent any unnecessary violence, "You don't have to worry Tazuna, I'm a Jonin, if anyone does manage to get past my team, they won't get past me."

"I hope so, I don't exactly feel comfortable with my safety in the hands of children" Tazuna said, earning glares from all three Genin.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were now at the gate with Sasuke, clearly annoyed with the lateness of both their sensei and Tazuna. A few more minutes passed until Kakashi finally showed up with a completely hung over Tazuna.

"I still think it would probably be better if I was just simply killed here and now so you can save the bandits the trouble…" Tazuna wined, clearly not happy that the majority of his guard consisted of children.

"Don't tempt us because we might just take you up on that" Naruto glowered.

"Humph, let's just get this over with" Tazuna said while following the ninja to the gate.

'_This is going to be a long mission…'_ Kakashi thought.

* * *

The group was now walking down the trail when Naruto, Hinata, and most likely Kakashi noticed as well. Naruto then walked over to Hinata to check if she knew too.

"Hinata, did you notice what I noticed?" Naruto whispered and asked.

"Yeah, those puddles shouldn't be there, I think we're going to be ambushed soon" Hinata whispered back.

"We probably are, and I'm pretty sure that Kakashi-sensei already knows as well, by the way, how many of them are there?" Naruto whispered.

Hinata then subtly activated her Byakugan with no hand signs and said, "There's only two of them, and with their chakra levels, it looks like they're both Chunin level so I think we can take them."

"How much longer do you think it will be until they strike?"

"Probably a few minutes" Hinata responded.

"Then we'd better get back into position and wait to counterattack"

Hinata just nodded while they both got back into their proper positions at guard.

At the same time, Kakashi noticed this and thought, _'Well it looks like those two noticed… Sasuke on the other hand… well, he might know, but I really have no way of knowing.'_

The group has been on the move for about 5 minutes after Naruto and Hinata noticed the enemy when they struck. The two of them attacked with some sort of chain weapon and supposedly trapped Kakashi in an instant.

"What the heck?!" Kakashi said before supposedly being torn apart by the weapon.

"SENSEI!" Hinata cried out, pretending that she didn't notice Kakashi's substitution jutsu.

"One down" one of the assailants said, and then the two took off after Hinata. Before their chain could wrap around her however, Hinata sliced through the chain in a spinning draw from her shoulder while shouting out, "Mortal Draw!" (Technique borrowed from Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess)

With the chain out of the way, Naruto decided it was his turn and drew his sword and got behind the assailant closest to him in a flash and delivered a brutal slash to his opponent's neck, knocking him out instantly. Sasuke on the other hand, chose to be flashy and performed a few hand signs before shouting out "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" and then launched a powerful fireball that burned his opponent to a crisp, but wasn't powerful enough to end his life. The two assailants were then bound and gagged before they regained consciousness. It was after the two were tied up when Kakashi chose to show himself.

"Well it looks like you three did pretty well for your first true battle against an unexpected enemy" Kakashi said while eye-smiling at the three. Kakashi then looked at Tazuna with a serious look on his face and said, "We need to talk Tazuna."

Tazuna was now sweating bullets, fully aware that he was caught.

"Would you please explain why there were two Chunin level ninja after you?" Kakashi asked.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about" Tazuna lied.

"The panic written on your face says otherwise, I highly suggest that you don't lie to me again or I'll have to cancel our contract. The contract says that we have to protect you from bandits while guiding you back to the Land of Waves. Not protect you from Chunin level rogue ninja like the Demon Brothers over there. If these two were in the mission parameters, then this would be at least a B-ranked mission. Now would you kindly explain yourself Tazuna?"

"Okay, I'll talk… you see, the reason why they were after me was because Gato has a price on my head."

"Gato? The shipping tycoon?" Kakashi asked.

"Feh, sure he might be rich, but that's only because of him extorting the price of his goods and ruining the economies of island countries like the Land of Waves. You see, he's also a crime lord that uses his own private legion of hired thugs to get what he wants. The reason wants my head is because the bridge to the mainland that I'm building is a threat to the monopoly he's making by sucking my homeland dry, that's why I could only afford a C-ranked mission. The whole village that I came from had to put just about all of its money together to pay for this mission, but don't worry about me… I'm sure that when I'm dead and killed by Gato's men, I'm sure that my grandson will probably only cry for about a month, and my daughter will only curse the name of the Leaf Village for the rest of her life" Tazuna explained, adding the last part to try and make the leaf team feel guilty and sorry for him.

Kakashi sighed and said, "Well team, what do you guys think? We're going outside of the mission parameters here, and we are no longer obligated to continue the mission. I'm leaving this up to you three, should we continue or return?"

"I say continue, there's no way I'm backing down from this!" Naruto exclaimed.

"If Naruto says yes then I do too" Hinata said.

"Hn, I say continue, there's no way I'm going to let a few rogue ninja and some crime lord scare me away" Sasuke said confidently.

*Sigh*" Alright then Tazuna, it looks like we'll keep guarding you for the time being, but if you're still hiding something from us and won't tell us, then I will nullify our contract regardless of my students' decision. Are we clear on this?" Kakashi said in a menacing voice.

"Y-Yes!" Tazuna replied.

"Okay then, let's keep moving then team, and keep your guard up at all times. We don't know when we'll be ambushed again" Kakashi announced.

The team nodded and resumed their guard formation while Tazuna smirked, glad that his guilt trip ploy worked.

* * *

**End of Chapter**

**Riku: Sorry it took so long to put this chapter up, but the reason it took so long for the author to get it up was due to writing some of other stories, reading some of his favorite stories, life, and lack of inspiration.**

**Jiraiya: Maybe he should peep on some women's hot springs, that always works for me when I can't think of anything to write.**

**Riku: In case you haven't noticed ya big pervert, the author is NOT YOU!**

**Jiraiya: Well excuse me for trying to help, and I'm not a big pervert! I AM A SUPER PERVERT!**

**Riku: Yeah, whatever… anyway, please review…**

…

**What? You can't expect me to throw in a threat following a review request after every chapter for every story.**


	12. The Demon of the Mist

**Riku: We have another update! And it would havebeen updated faster, but since the author isn't getting much inspiration for the Wave Arc of this fic…**

**Jiraiya: I told him that he should do some research, it always helps me when I don't have much inspiration (Now to find the closest woman's hot springs…)**

***WHAM!***

**Kushina: If you think I'm going to let you peep in the woman's hot springs while I'm around then you're dead wrong Pervy-Sage!**

**Riku: S-sis?! What are you doing here? You don't make your grand appearance in this fic until the Chunin Exam Arc!**

**Kushina: I thought I'd show up early and say a disclaimer or two… I have been getting a little bored…**

**Riku: Then you should read stuff… maybe a cookbook or two…**

**Kushina: But I don't wanna… unless it's a cookbook on ramen!**

**Riku: Where you got that ramen addiction of yours, I'll never know.**

**Kushina: Disclaimer time! The author does not own Naruto, which is good because he's MY son!**

**Riku: Protective, aren't we?**

**Kushina: HELL YEAH!**

**(A/N: The techniques that are used in this chapter will be described at the end of this chapter in bold print)**

* * *

Chapter 11: The Demon of the Mist

'_Things seem a little too quiet…'_Kakashi thought as he and his Genin Squad continued to trek through what was quite possibly enemy territory. Kakashi also noticed that both Naruto and Hinata were a little on edge and alert, _'They seem to be on top of things, it looks like they also noticed the abnormality.'_Kakashi then looked at Sasuke and mentally sighed, _'It looks like even though the other two are already about Chunin level in most aspects, Sasuke on the other hand is still as green as any other Genin in sensory aspects…'_

Kakashi then noticed something was in the bushes when Naruto threw a kunai at said bushes, only to reveal a white rabbit.

"Naruto, I know we're a little on edge right now, but that doesn't mean you have the right to frighten innocent little rabbits!" Hinata chastised.

"Hn, great going loser, you got us all worked up for nothing" Sasuke grunted.

Naruto didn't respond to either however, he just continued to stare at the spot that he threw the kunai and thought, _'Someone was there before that rabbit showed up, I detected his chakra signature, so if that rabbit wasn't there before and this rabbit is still in its winter coat when its currently spring. That means it has to be a pet of some sort, or trained to be used as a substitution…'_

Naruto's thoughts were then interrupted when Kakashi shouted out "EVERYONE! GET DOWN!"

Everyone complied, with Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke ducking down, while Hinata grabbed the bridge builder and made both of them hit the dirt at the same time. They all managed to duck just in time for a large zanbato to fly through the air where their heads were a second ago, and then embed itself in a tree. The group then looked up to see a very tall and intimidating man standing on the zanbato.

"Well, if it isn't the Demon of the Mist, Zabuza Momochi" Kakashi stated, making the assailant known to the group.

"You appear to be the Copy-Ninja Kakashi, sorry but, the old man is mine" Zabuza replied.

Naruto and Sasuke were about to charge in when Kakashi stopped them by saying, "Everyone get back! This one is on a whole other level. Just surround and protect the bridge builder, that's the teamwork here!"

Kakashi then reached for his headband and revealed his hidden left eye. Zabuza then replied to this by saying, "Oh, so I get to see the famous Sharingan, I'm honored."

"Zabuza, if you want to get to the bridge builder, you'll have to fight me first" Kakashi said while glaring.

"Alright then…" was all Zabuza said before dislodging his zanbato from the tree and jumping over to a nearby pond. He then raised his left arm and made a hand sign while announcing, "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

A dense mist then settled in, hindering all vision, including the use of Kakashi's Sharingan. Hinata then activated her Byakugan to see if it could see through the mist, and thankfully, she is able to and saw Zabuza's approach.

"Eight choices… liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, jugular vein, brain, kidneys, heart… which one should I aim for?" Zabuza pondered out loud in an attempt to demoralize the group while releasing his killing intent. Kakashi also did the same to make sure that he could fight Zabuza on even ground.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was paralyzed by the sheer amount of killing intent thinking, _this killing intent is so intense! It feels like I'll be killed if I make any sudden movements! This kind of killing intent can drive a person crazy! I can't take it… I'd almost rather die now and get it over with…'_

Naruto and Hinata were also emitting their own killing intent, it wasn't near the amount Kakashi and Zabuza were emitting, but it was just enough to keep them from folding under pressure.

'_Hmm… it seems like the two with the swords are strong enough to resist this level of killing intent… it looks like this may be interesting…'_Zabuza thought before making his move.

While Kakashi was assuring Sasuke that he would protect his squad with his life, Hinata saw Zabuza make his move and shouted out, "Naruto, he's going to attack from your left!"

Naruto then reacted instantly by noticing Zabuza's silhouette in the mist and right in the middle of Zabuza's swing, Naruto harmlessly re-directed the slash by hitting the part of the zanbato that was facing the ground and said, "Whirlpool Supersonic Sword Style: Ryu Shou Sen!"

Then taking advantage of the opening that Naruto made, Hinata flew through some hand seals and aimed at the part of Zabuza that wasn't blocked by Naruto with her sword and announced, "Water Style: Pressurized Water Slash Jutsu!" Hinata then condensed the water in the mist around her sword and launched sharp blades of water from her sword at Zabuza. When they made contact with Zabuza however, he dispersed into water, showing that they were only fighting a water clone. Zabuza then appeared behind Hinata and was prepared to slash when Kakashi put a kunai to his throat and said, "That's quite enough Zabuza."

"Oh really, Kakashi?" Zabuza said from behind, showing that the one in front was just another water clone. Zabuza then slashed right after Hinata started ducking and just missed her by a hair while slicing through the water clone that Kakashi made at the last second. Kakashi then appeared behind Zabuza again, stabbing him in the kidney, only for that Zabuza to be another water clone. Zabuza then appeared behind Kakashi again and delivered a powerful kick that sent Kakashi onto the water, Zabuza then appeared behind Kakashi while he was getting out of the water and flew through some hand seals and said, "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"

Kakashi was now trapped in an inescapable sphere of water, and was also forced to hold his breath. Zabuza then spoke up by saying, "Well Kakashi, I'll finish things with you later, after I deal with the bridge builder, 'Water Clone Jutsu!'"

A clone of Zabuza then appeared from out of the water and spoke what was on Zabuza's mind for him, "You think that just because you wear those headbands, you have the right to call yourself ninja? Hah! A real ninja is someone who has survived numberous encounters with death!"

Zabuza's water clone then charged into battle swinging his sword at Naruto. Naruto jumped clear over the sword and then slashed down at the clone while shouting out, 'Whirlpool Supersonic Sword Style: Ryu Sui Sen!'" Naruto's sword was then brought down on where Zabuza's jugular vein would be if it wasn't blocked by Zabuza's zanbato at the last second.

"I've seen this sword style before… you were trained by a member of the old Whirlpool Village's Uzumaki Clan weren't you? Who was it?" the clone asked.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I was trained by my uncle Riku Uzumaki, the Trueblade of the Whirlpool!" Naruto proudly announced.

"Heh… so the Whirlpool's strongest and most stubborn swordsman, and the sole survivor of the infamous UzumakiTrio is still alive and kicking… maybe I should pay him a visit and see if he remembers me after I finish off the bridge builder…"

"That's not going to happen because we're going to stop you here and now!" Naruto proclaimed.

Naruto then shifted his balance and jumped away while shouting out, "Sasuke! Hinata! Now!"

Sasuke and Hinata were now on both sides of the clone and then flew through hand signs and then announced simultaneously, "Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!" "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"

Unable to dodge both attacks due to them being at point-blank range, the clone was dispelled while both attacks created a dense fog at the impact site. All three Genin then darted into the fog to formulate a plan while Zabuza created another clone. However, once the clone rose out of the water, a Windmill Shuriken flew past it, only to be caught by Zabuza.

"Hah! Is that it? Tricks like this won't work on me!"

It was actually only the beginning, Zabuza then saw a shurikenappear out of the shadow of the other one and jumped over it, and then said, "Impressive for a bunch of brats, but that still won't cut it!"

He then saw ninja wire fly out of the fog and was then bound in place before he realized what happened, but still managed to keep Kakashi captive. He then heard Sasuke shout out, "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

Due to how loud Sasuke shouted out his attack, he didn't hear Naruto, who appeared in the place of the second Windmill Shuriken announce his attack, "Whirlpool Super Sonic Sword Style: Dou Ryu Sen!

Zabuza then just managed to substitute himself with his Water Clone while the Dragon Flame hit the bound Water Clone, and the Dou Ryu Sen redirected the attack to prevent Kakashi from getting scorched.

"You little brats!" Zabuza shouted out before charging at the fog covered area, paying Kakashi no attention until Kakashi intercepted him with a kunai blocking his zanbato.

"I believe your fight is with me now Zabuza" Kakashi said while making perfect eye contact with Zabuza, subtly catching Zabuza in a Genjutsu.

Zabuza then grunted while jumping back, quickly planning his next move. Kakashi then used this new elbow room to call out to his squad by saying, "Good teamwork you three, I'm glad to see that you all learned to plan things out before rushing in, but leave this to me now. By the way Zabuza…" Kakashi was now addressing his adversary, "You won't find things as easy as they were before, after all… I don't fall for the same tricks twice."

"Feh, we'll see about that, 'Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!'"

Kakashi then did the exact same thing at the exact same time with perfect precision, "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

'_Odd, he copied my moves perfectly… what's going on?' _Zabuza thought.

'_How is he' _"Reading my movements" Kakashi finished while Zabuza prepared some hand signs.

'_What? How did he? Damn… that-' _"Freaky eye is pissing me off… right?" Kakashi finished again.

"All you're doing is copying me!" Zabuza shouted out.

Kakashi and Zabuza then announced at the same time, "You can't beat me you stupid monkey!"

Zabuza was now so enraged by Kakashi's imitations that he lost his focus and yelled out while flying through hand signs while Kakashi just copied the hand signs, "Damn you! I'll make it so that you'll never open that mouth of yours again!"

Zabuza then landed on the last hand sign and noticed that Kakashi had that one copied too and saw an illusion of himself behind Kakashi and thought, _'That… that's… me? Impossible! Am I caught in one of his Genjutsu?'_Zabuza was also now looking deeper into Kakashi's Sharingan eye and thought that he saw it spinning in a counter-clockwise pattern, pulling him deeper into his Sharingan Genjutsu.

Kakashi then finished the jutsu while Zabuza didn't and announced, "Water Style: Water Vortex Jutsu!" An enormous blast of water was then shot at Zabuza, dealing an impressive amount of damage and just barely missing the group with the bridge builder that Naruto just now managed to rejoin.

Zabuza then hit at tree and was then pinned to it with a few kunai thrown at him by Kakashi while he asked, "How…? Can you see into the future?"

"Yes I can… I can see your future… and your future is… death!"

However, before Kakashi could deal the finishing blow, senbon flew out of nowhere and hit Zabuza in the neck, supposedly killing him in the process.

"Heh, your right, his future really is death" A voice came out from a person in a hunter ninja mask on the opposite side of the clearing.

Kakashi then approached Zabuza after acknowledging the ninja's presence and checked Zabuza's pulse… there was none. Kakashi then looked up to the hunter ninja while the ninja bowed and said, "Thank you for your assistance, I have been looking for the perfect opportunity to finish Zabuza off for a long time."

Kakashi then looked at the hunters mask and said, "By the looks of your mask, you must be a hunter ninja from the Mist Village"

"Impressive, you are correct, now if you excuse me…" the hunter ninja then disappeared from the tree and appeared by Zabuza and picked him up by draping Zabuza's arm over his shoulder and got some distance from Kakashi and said, "excuse me, I have to dispose of the body now."

The hunter ninja then made a hand sign for the body flicker jutsu when Naruto called out, "Hold it!" getting everyone's attention and halting the hunter ninja's progress.

"Is there a problem Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, what I'm wondering is why this hunter ninja isn't disposing of Zabuza's body on the spot, that is what hunter ninja do when they kill their target if I'm not mistaken."

"You're right Naruto, I'm wondering the same thing too" Kakashi said while glaring at the hunter, only for him to disappear before anyone can make a move.

Kakashi now walked back to the group while Sasuke asked, "So I'm guessing that this isn't the last we've seen of Zabuza?"

"Most likely, if that hunter ninja really was a fake, and in league with Zabuza, then it's pretty safe to assume that we'll have to face them again after Zabuza has healed. I'd say we have just over… a… week…" Kakashi said while collapsing from chakra exhaustion.

"Sensei!" Hinata cried out while running over to Kakashi.

"What's wrong with him?" Naruto asked while Hinata got a look at him while everyone else surrounded the collapsed Jonin.

"It looks like it's just a case of chakra exhaustion, he should be fine after a week's worth of rest" Hinata explained.

"Great… I guess that means we now have to drag him all the way to Tazuna's house now…" Sasuke groaned.

"Don't worry, my house isn't too far from here, I'd say we're only an hour's walk away at this point" Tazuna said.

"Then let's get going, the sooner we get there… the sooner… we can get our chronically late sensei someplace safe to rest…" Naruto said while helping Sasuke carry Kakashi.

* * *

Meanwhile…

'_This isn't over yet Kakashi… you'll see that I also don't fall for the same tricks twice!'_

* * *

Technique corner

Hidden Mist Jutsu- creates a shroud of mist that takes visibility to a minimum. Perfect for making a silent kill and countering the Sharingan.

Ryu Shou Sen- An upwards sword slash that is normally used to slash off the target's jaw

Pressurized Water Slash- Gathers water molecules from the air and condenses around the user's blade, it then unleashes a thin blade of pressurized water whenever the user makes a slash at the opponent. Deadly in both long range combat and short range combat.

Water Clone- Creates a solid clone out of water

Water Prison- Captures the target in a spherical prison of incredibly dense water and slowly makes the target drown

Ryu Sui Sen- The user quickly leaps into the air and then brings his sword down on the target's jugular vein while decending

Water Bullet- User shoots a medium sized ball of water from water accumulated near the user's mouth

Fire Ball- User shoots a ball of fire from his/her mouth

Dragon Flame- Fires intense flames in the shape of a dragon from the user's mouth

Dou Ryu Sen- Creates a small shockwave from a vertical sword slice that travels along the ground

Water Dragon- Creates a dragon out of water that attacks the target with intense force

Water Vortex- Creates a massive vortex out of water that hits the target with impressive force

* * *

**Riku: And that's another one down!**

**Kushina: Yay! Another chapter closer to my first true appearance in this story!**

**Riku: It's still gonna be a while though, so make yourself comfortable**

**Kushina: Aww…**

**Shizune: Don't worry, at least you have less of a wait than I do**

**Ton-Ton: Oink**

**Kushina: I guess you're right…**

**Riku: Now all we need is someone to wrap things up with a review request**

**Shizune: I'll do it**

**Kushina: No, I'll do it!**

**Shizune: I asked first!**

**Kushina: Well, I'm his sister!**

**Shizune: But Riku doesn't play favorites! Right Riku?**

**Riku: She's right**

**Kushina: Well you still have to choose!**

**Riku: Since this is such a hard choice… I'll just let Jiraiya do it while I head for the hills and wait for you two to simmer down… Hit it Jiraiya! YEAHHHHHHhhhhh…(Runs away at full speed with Kushina hot on his tail while Shizune sweat drops)**

**Jiraiya: Aren't you going to chase after him?**

**Shizune: I would if I was angry**

**Jiraiya: You don't get angry easily do you?**

**Shizune: Nope, but I will hit you with a poisoned senbon that will make you fear all women if you peep on me while I'm at the hot springs! In fact, I'll also do that to all who don't review when they're able to when they're done reading this!**

**Jiraiya: Hey! I'm supposed to do the threatening review request**

**Shizune: You were just too slow Jiraiya! (Grins mischievously with a raised eyebrow)**

**Ton-Ton: Oink!**


	13. A Moment's Reprieve

**Riku: Here we go, chapter 12!**

**Kushina: FINALLY!!!**

**Riku: It wasn't THAT long…**

**Kushina: It was still too long for my tastes!**

**Riku: Whatever… I guess I won't bother telling you that the author has decided to give you a little mini appearance in this chapter**

**Kushina: REALLY?!**

**Riku: Yes, but onto business…**

**Kushina: Disclaimer time?**

**Riku: Go for it sis**

**Kushina: The author does not own my son, ARE WE ALL CLEAR ON THIS?!**

**Riku: **_**'My little sister can be scary at times…'**_

* * *

Chapter 12: A Moment's Reprieve

'_Ungh… where am I?'_ Kakashi thought as he was slowly waking up, twitching a little as he started to open his only visible eye.

"So you're finally awake, sensei!" Naruto said while smiling when Kakashi's eye was fully open.

"Where are we?"

"Tazuna's house" Sasuke said plainly.

"You collapsed from chakra exhaustion" Hinata added.

"I guess I'll be able to fight again in about a week then…" Kakashi said.

"So what are we going to do until then?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I'm going to have to assign you three some training exercises to do while I'm recovering, but I'll give you three more details once I'm able to at least move around again" Kakashi answered.

"So what do we do until then?" Hinata asked.

"Patrol the area for any of Gato's men and assist Tazuna and his family in any way possible" Kakashi answered.

"You heard him, let's go!" Naruto said while heading for the door.

"Coming Naruto!" Hinata said while following him out the door while Sasuke just grunted and followed in suit.

* * *

A day has passed since Kakashi woke up, and he was now able to walk around with the help of crutches and agreed to help out with the team's training. He was currently now getting Sasuke to improve his chakra control and reserves with the tree climbing exercise. When Sasuke asked why Naruto and Hinata weren't doing the same exercise, Kakashi simply answered by telling him that already know how to do the exercise and the water walking exercise, and that he will teach him the same exercise when he completes the tree climbing exercise.

Since Kakashi wasn't exactly in the right condition to teach Naruto or Hinata any new techniques, he went back to resting and recovering his chakra while Naruto and Hinata went to do whatever they were practicing before the mission. That meant that Naruto went back to trying to get down the Batou Jitsu technique that Riku showed him while Hinata went back to trying to perfect her Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms technique, and then improve it even further by adding her sword to it.

Naruto was now currently in the Batou Jitsu stance with his sword sheathed and disconnected from his belt and being held in his left hand with his right hand inches away from the hilt, ready to draw at any given moment. Naruto was currently staring down a wooden post in his current stance and was determined to decapitate it in less than a millisecond. He then stepped forward, drew his sword, and lunged at the post at inhuman speeds and then slashed the post in half within duration of a second.

'_Damn… still not fast enough…'_

"That was pretty good, Naruto. I'm guessing that that was the Batou Jitsu, correct?" Kakashi asked from the entrance of the clearing.

"Almost… it still isn't fast enough though…" Naruto answered.

"You're right, I've seen that technique executed before, it's supposed to be virtually impossible to follow, with the exception of people that are capable of moving at those inhuman speeds, and people with a fully developed Sharingan"

"Do you know how I can increase my speed by the end of the week, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, "You could try using weighted training material, I know that some ninja use training weights to increase their speed and stamina."

"Do you have anything like that on you right now? All I have on me right now is this weighted jacket, and I'm already used to its weight, so that won't help me all that much…" Naruto said, referring to his dim-dark orange jacket.

"How much does that thing weigh anyway?" Kakashi asked.

"About 200 pounds"

"Then take it off and try to use the technique again" Kakashi ordered.

"Okay" Naruto said while removing his jacket and then getting back into the Batou Jitsu stance, and then started to glare at his new target: a wooden post on the other side of his makeshift training grounds. Naruto then bolted at the post at an even quicker pace than before performing the Batou Jitsu draw-slash and cleaving the post in two. The entire attack was preformed within the duration of a millisecond, and it was impossible for Kakashi to follow it without the assistance of his Sharingan eye.

Naruto then sheathed his reverse-blade sword and looked at Kakashi and asked, "Was that fast enough?"

Kakashi then did his signature eye-smile and said, "I'd say that that is the minimum speed-level required for that technique. I have seen that technique preformed before at a faster pace during the 3rd Great Ninja War, when I was ordered to help out in the Whirlpool Country, but it was performed by someone that had years of experience, so you shouldn't worry that much."

"Only the minimum, huh… I guess I'd better get back to training then. I still have a long way to go before I can show Uncle Riku how far I've progressed with this technique!" Naruto said while putting his jacket back on without zippering it up.

"I'm sure you'll have it down, now if you excuse me… I'd better see how far Sasuke's gotten with the tree climbing exercise" Kakashi said while walking away.

Naruto then waved goodbye and then returned to glaring at wooden posts and then slashing them in two in almost no time.

* * *

Sasuke was almost at the top of the tree that he was climbing with nothing but his chakra thanks to his stubbornness, and desire to catch up to his teammates to recover his damaged pride.

"Hmm, it looks like you're progressing faster than I anticipated, Sasuke. I'd say that you'll have this exercise mastered by tomorrow, and then we'll be able to progress to the water walking training" Kakashi said while eye-smiling at an exhausted Sasuke.

"Hn" Sasuke grunted while panting.

Kakashi then looked at the sky and noticed that it was now evening, and then said, "Alright, I think that's enough for today, you've nearly exhausted your chakra Sasuke, and I'd prefer it if you didn't start to suffer from chakra exhaustion like me."

"Hn" Sasuke grunted again while starting to walk back to Tazuna's house.

'_Looks like Sasuke still isn't changing at all yet… he's still as anti-social as ever…'_

* * *

The team was now back at Tazuna's house and eating a dinner that was prepared by Tazuna's daughter Tsunami. Of course, being Team 7 and all… there is of course, going to be friction of some sort because that's just how things roll for them.

"More!" both Naruto and Sasuke said at the same time when they finished another bowl of rice, then the two glared at each other, causing sparks to collide between the two as they wordlessly challenged each other to see who can eat more.

When they got their extra helping, both of the Genin shinobi wolfed down their rice until they started to choke on their food, causing Hinata to worry for Naruto and help him stop choking while Sasuke got the rice out of his windpipe by himself.

"Naruto, you should really slow down…" Hinata said in a worried voice.

"No, I need to eat so that I can get back to training faster" Naruto replied in a serious voice.

"Same goes for me" Sasuke added.

"It doesn't matter how much stronger you get, you'll all just die anyway, like the last person that tried to save this country…" the little kid known as Inari said as he left the table.

"What was that?! I don't know what your problem is but it doesn't really matter anyway, I'm different, I'm not going to just sit around and mope like you. I actually plan on making things better around here" Naruto said.

"You don't know what it's like to be me! It doesn't matter how glorious you make your claims or how hard you train! In the end the weak will always be killed by the strong!" Inari shouted out.

"Then Gato and his men aren't as strong as you think, because even if he is strong… we're stronger" Naruto pointed out.

"You just don't get it! You don't know what it's like to lose something precious to you! You don't know what it's like to be me!" Inari burst out.

Sasuke snapped at this point, "You should get to know who you're talking to before you accuse them of something, kid" Sasuke said in an extremely cold voice, "Try losing every single thing that you have ever held precious to you, lose every. single. thing… and then you can talk to me about the pain of loss!"

"You aren't the only person in this room that lost something before, Inari. Every single ninja in this room knows what it's like to be alone with nobody to comfort them" Hinata said in an almost equally cold voice.

"So stop acting like the star of a tragedy, kid! If you're tired of being pushed around by Gato… then stand up for yourself and stop crying you little brat!" Naruto roared in anger.

Inari just continued to tear up and then ran off to his room, Kakashi then decided to follow after the little kid to explain why his team was so offended by Inari's words.

* * *

It was now around the middle of the night and Naruto just couldn't seem to be able to get to sleep, so he decided to take a walk to clear his head of the events during dinner. As soon as he left the house though, he saw a shadow move in the direction of the area that Hinata was usually training for the past week, so Naruto decided to follow and see who it was.

When he reached the site, he saw what was quite possibly the most beautiful sight that he has ever seen. He saw the silhouette of a rather well-developed girl around his age dancing on the water, using movements that Hinata normally used when fighting. Naruto then squinted his eyes to get a closer look and then noticed that the girl actually is Hinata, and with the exception of her underwear… she was almost completely naked. Blood then spurted from Naruto's nose, and then he fainted from the blood loss with a resounding thud.

Hinata then heard the thud and immediately suppressed a girlish squeal of surprise and immediately went to put her clothes back on, and then looked for the source of the thud. It didn't take very long for her to find the source of the noise, the source of the thud was Naruto, and Hinata immediately blushed at the thought of what Naruto must have seen, _'Did I do that to him? My figure isn't THAT attractive… is it?'_

Hinata's thoughts were then interrupted by a sleepy groan, Naruto was waking up, and due to the fact that Hinata didn't want to be seen like this, or explain what Naruto saw… she immediately took off and hid.

Naruto then woke up with a groan and noticed that Hinata was gone, much to his disappointment. _'She really looked beautiful when she was doing that training dance of hers… wait! What the hell am I thinking?! This is my best friend I'm thinking about! But then again…'_

Naruto's thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of a twig snapping. He then immediately turned in the direction of the noise and asked, "Who's there?"

Hinata, who was the source of the noise immediately put her hands over her mouth and slowly panicked internally, _'Oh no! What do I do? If Naruto finds me then he'll definitely know that the person training on the lake was me… if he doesn't already know that… ooohhh, this is so embarrassing! I don't know what to do! If Naruto finds me, then I'll probably faint from embarrassment, or end up having to explain what I was doing!'_

Hinata's thoughts, however, were then interrupted by Naruto suddenly appearing right next to her saying, "Oh, there you are Hinata! I was wondering where you went!"

"Eep!" Hinata squeaked in surprise, her face then gained an intense red hue from her embarrassment, and then she barely managed to stutter out, "Oh… y-you were l-looking for me, N-Naruto?"

"Yeah, I saw you doing that little training dance on that pond over there… and… well… i-it was umm… it looked really great Hinata!" Naruto said in a nervous voice while blushing, unable to bring himself to say what he truly thought.

"Oh, umm… thanks Naruto" Hinata said, a little disappointed that that was all Naruto said.

"Well… let's head back before somebody notices that we're gone" Naruto suggested.

"R-Right!" Hinata agreed, not wanting to be caught in more than one embarrassing situation in one night.

* * *

The next day, Kakashi was teaching Sasuke how to walk on water while Naruto was doing the same thing that he was doing the day before, and Hinata managed to perfect her technique and integrate it into a sword technique by adding a second sword that Kakashi gave her as a counterweight, and was now escorting Tazuna around town to make sure that none of Gato's thugs would attack him. While they were shopping for food however, Hinata saw just how badly the town was hit by Gato's tyranny and immediately vowed in her mind to make Gato answer for all of his crimes against humanity.

"Nobody deserves to live like this…" Hinata said absentmindedly.

"Yeah, but the only way that we can do anything about it is to finish the bridge before everyone dies of starvation" Tazuna agreed.

Hinata was about to say something else when she felt somebody's hand brush against her butt, and almost reach into her supply bag. Before the pickpocket could take anything however, Hinata immediately did what any girl would do if some random person touched her butt… she immediately turned around, cried out "PERVERT!" in a high-pitched voice, and then pummeled him with a brutal Gentle Fist hit to the gut, causing him to spit out blood and keel over.

Everyone immediately kept their distance from her after that, however, there was a little kid that noticed that Hinata had food with her and asked if he could have some. Hinata's eyes immediately softened when she saw the pleading look on the kid's face and heard his stomach growl. The kid looked like he hadn't eaten for days, so she gave him a loaf of bread, a pat on the head, and told him that things will get better soon. The kid looked immediately happy after that and gave her a grateful hug and then left while yelling out, "Thank you nice lady!"

Hinata then returned to Tazuna's house to help Tsunami prepare dinner, feeling like she truly did something good today, and during dinner, Naruto told her and the rest of the team about his encounter with a boy that looks like a girl that told him what it meant to truly be strong (Encounter with Haku, and yes, I made Haku a boy like in the Manga and Anime) and unknowingly inspired Inari to stop crying all the time and protect what little he still held precious.

* * *

It was now the last day before Kakashi predicted that Zabuza would reappear, and he was now training Sasuke to make sure that he was ready for the next fight now that he was back to full strength. Sasuke has been improving by leaps and bounds in his chakra control training, and was now able to walk on water, so long as he doesn't lose his concentration. The two of them were now doing some light sparring on the water to help Sasuke learn how to walk on water without having to focus on it the whole time, and slowly but surely, it was working. After a while though, Sasuke got tired and was unable to stand on the water for more than a few seconds, so Kakashi decided that Sasuke had enough for the day.

The two were now walking back to Tazuna's house when Sasuke, unknowingly started a conversation that could change his future decisions in life.

"Which one is right…? Naruto or Itachi…" Sasuke mumbled.

"Hmm? What was that, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"Hn, it's nothing"

"I might be able to help you if you ask, I am here to help after all" Kakashi offered.

Sasuke thought for a moment before deciding to ask, "I was just wondering which one was right, Naruto when he said that true strength came from protecting something precious to you, or Itachi when he told me that I'd find the strength I need to kill him by hating him and gaining strength from that hatred… which one will give me the strength I need to avenge my clan?"

"That's something that you'll just have to decide for yourself, but I would like to advise you that if you obtain a power that comes purely from an external source, then it's only a false power that should be thrown away before the one giving you the power demands payment" Kakashi advised.

"I also once heard the Third Hokage once say something about something called the 'Will of Fire'… do you have any clue what that is?"

"Hmm… if I'm not mistaken, the Will of Fire is a feeling of some sort that gives people the strength to defend and protect something precious to them, in other words… it's true strength, Sasuke" Kakashi explained.

Sasuke said nothing after that, or said anything during dinner that evening (Not that that's anything new…), and then stayed up half the night, contemplating what Kakashi said in their conversation earlier until sleep finally took him.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Leaf Village…

Riku was once again playing body guard for Sarutobi since it was his job and all, but at least it had some advantages. One of them would be some of the stimulating conversations they occasionally have, and it pays the same amount as an A-Rank Mission. That, and the fact that Riku gets to look at Sarutobi's look of absolute frustration whenever he has to do paperwork, which is pretty much 24/7.

Today, however, was not one of those days. The aged Hokage actually had some decent information that he wished to share with Riku due to the fact that some of it might actually involve Riku indirectly at least.

"So, what exactly is it that you managed to dig up in your almost non-existent free time?" Riku asked.

"It's something that dates back to the night of the Kyuubi attack" Sarutobi said as he passed the document to Riku.

Riku looked at it and noticed that the document was about Kushina and her supposed death by childbirth, he then looked through it thoroughly and noticed that something didn't add up, "Wait… this doesn't add up… it says her that she suddenly died from blood loss, but it doesn't show any record of her starting to lose any blood. She was also practically a picture of perfect health all the way through her pregnancy, I should know because I visited her on numerous occasions. So this could only mean that either the presence of the Kyuubi made her take a turn for the worse or…"

"Somebody kidnapped her and created a convincing illusion that made it look like she died in childbirth…" Sarutobi finished.

"My guess is that Danzo was behind it, after all, he did try to abduct me on the night Mizuki tried to steal the Scroll of Forbidden Jutsu, and he does seem to be showing interest in Naruto, he does want to turn him into a living weapon after all" Riku guessed, slowly letting his anger rise.

"It's possible… in fact, he's actually my prime suspect in all of this."

"Why's that?" Riku asked.

"Because I just remembered that Danzo wasn't there for the emergency council meeting shortly after Minato sealed the Kyuubi inside Naruto" Sarutobi answered.

"Meaning that he was most likely too busy trying to break Kushina's spirit if he really did abduct her during that time" Riku finished.

"However, we don't have any solid proof on this, so until we do, we won't be able to do anything about it. We'll just have to wait for Danzo to make the first move, so it's best that we'll just have to wait and see what Danzo's up to because he's been acting even more shady than usual lately…"

"I agree, I've been keeping tabs on him myself lately, we've already confirmed that Danzo still has ROOT active, which that in itself is enough for you to execute him, but we don't have any solid proof to do so because the ROOT members that I killed that night all burst into blue flames upon death. The problem right now is finding out where ROOT's base is, I've been looking for it in my free time, and I've got nothing so far" Riku added.

"All we can do right now is set up a trap for him, and when he walks into it…"

"We spring the trap" Sarutobi finished.

"My guess is that he'll probably strike during the commotion of the Chunin Exams, and if he really did capture Kushina, then she'll probably be working under the influence of some sort of control seal" Riku surmised.

"Why would he need a seal to control her? Wouldn't he have broken her by now?" Sarutobi asked.

"Heh, hardly! It'll take more than just over a decade's worth of torture to break an Uzumaki's iron will! There are three things that the Uzumaki are known for, our peerless sword style, being quick to anger and slow to forgive, there's a saying to prove it, and our unbreakable will. The only way he'll get her to do anything he wants is to seal her will away with some sort of control seal!"

"You have a point there, so I'm guessing that I'll have to call Jiraiya back around the time of the Chunin Exams to unseal Kushina if our assumption is correct."

"Yeah, it looks like we have a lot of work ahead of us, so I suggest you spend less time on that paperwork and more time planning a trap for Danzo."

"No! I'll just end up having to do it all later then and it'll be a nightmare!"

"Then finish it quicker by using Shadow Clones!" Riku said as he jumped out the window.

Sarutobi then repeatedly slammed his head against his desk while thinking, _'Why didn't I think about that earlier! All that time I could've spent with my family! GONE! All because I couldn't complete this damn paperwork fast enough!'_

Sarutobi then created a few Shadow Clones and finished his paperwork five times faster than usual.

* * *

At ROOT headquarters…

"Lord Danzo will see you now" a ROOT operative said to a red-haired woman that was tied to a chair in a way that not even the greatest escape artist could escape from.

"Heh, if he thinks that he's going to break me this time, then that cripple has another thing coming!" the red-haired woman spat out in defiance.

Danzo then entered the room and looked at the red head in contempt and began another round of torture.

"You've held up rather well, Kushina, but I'm rather pressed for time right now, and if I'm going to use you to help me claim the Hokage title after Hizuren dies in the invasion. I'll have to break your will and get you back into top physical form while you're under my control."

"Ha! You didn't break me yesterday, and you won't break me today either! An Uzumaki is capable of resisting the most insane tortures with our iron will! Good Luck because you'll need it!" Kushina yelled in defiance.

"Fine then!" Danzo said as he put Kushina in a torture Genjutsu that could only be surpassed by the Tsukiyomi, making her see the horrors of war all over again, and watch all of the atrocities that he plans to put Naruto if he could get his hands on him.

Kushina then slumped for a bit and let a tear fall from one of her eyes, and Danzo took that as a sign of success and then asked, "Well how to you feel now?"

Kushina just looked up at Danzo with a look of sheer defiance and spat in his face. Danzo then growled in annoyance, wiped the spit off of his face, and then shouted out, "I don't have time for your silly little games, prisoner! If you can't be broken, then I guess I'll just have to seal you will away then! Oh, and just so you know… your first job as my forced servant would be to capture your dear brother Riku. You see, he's been protecting your demon brat of a son for the past five years, and took down some of my best men recently. He's been quite a nuisance and has obviously conspiring with Hizuren behind my back."

Kushina's eyes widened in shock from hearing this and thought frantically while trying to undo her bonds, _'my brother's alive?! If he is then I have to escape now and see him and Naruto again! I don't want our reunion to be and Uzumaki's duel to the death! Come on you stupid bonds! BREAK ALREADY!!!'_

"Do you have any last words before I seal away that defiant will of yours?" Danzo asked while raising his good hand, not noticing the snap of Kushina breaking the chains that had her hands bound.

Kushina then smirked and said, "Just this!"

She then clocked Danzo with her free hand with enough force behind it to knock Danzo off of his feet, and immediately undid the ropes that had her legs bound to her chair bolted through the door that Danzo came through while hearing Danzo shout out, "GUARDS! SEDATE HER!!!"

Kushina didn't wait for anyone to catch up to her, and she didn't slow down, she was running purely on an adrenaline rush that she was hoping to maintain until she got some distance between herself and ROOT's headquarters. She was now opening any doors that she believed would lead to the exit and avoided anything that sounded like the footsteps of one of Danzo's ROOT flunkies.

Kushina then heard the sound of some of some of Danzo's ROOT ANBU catching up to her and immediately willed herself to run faster, she was in no condition to fight and was amazed that she was able to accomplish what she already pulled off. Kushina then saw a door that looked rather promising and ran towards it, only for Danzo to appear right in front of the door and grabbed her in a one armed stranglehold with an arm that Kushina didn't know that he had while lifting her off of the ground.

"That's quite enough Kushina, your little escape attempt has come to an end! Any last words?"

Kushina just glared at him and spat on his face before he slammed the piece of paper that held the control seal on it onto her forehead.

Kushina's world then went dark…

* * *

**Riku: And now we're done for the day!**

**Kushina: At least I got a few moments of glory before the author ended this chapter…**

**Riku: It was necessary for the story! Besides, once I'm done kicking your butt, Jiraiya will remove that seal that Danzo put on you while I'm busy tearing Danzo limb from limb…**

**Kushina: … he better not feel me up…**

**Jiraiya: And why would I do that?!**

**Kushina: Because you're a pervert…**

**Jiraiya: That's SUPER PERVERT!!!**

**Kushina: Whatever, Pervy-Sage, my case still rests**

**Riku: Hehe… well then… um… please review…**


	14. Battle at the Bridge

**Riku: Here we go! Chapter 13!**

**Kushina: Unlucky number 13…**

**Riku: Don't say that! You might jinx something!**

**Kushina: Oh, right…**

**Riku: Still depressed about your capture in the story?**

**Kushina: Mmhmm…**

**Riku: Don't worry Sis, it'll get better soon!**

**Kushina: It better… because if the author decides to kill me off… I'll find him and KILL HIM UZUMAKI STYLE!!!**

**Riku: (Sweat drops) **_**Well, it looks like she's ALMOST back to normal…**_

**Kushina: And now for the disclaimer…**

**Riku: The author does not own Naruto**

**Kushina: Aww… I wanted to do the disclaimer!**

**Riku: You did it the last two times, give me a chance for once Sis!**

**Kushina: Fine!**

**(A/N: Jutsu and techniques that are being shouted out will now be in bold print to make it easier to distinguish from the rest of the print.)**

Chapter 13: The Battle at the Bridge

It was now the estimated date that Kakashi predicted that Zabuza would return. Kakashi, Naruto, and Hinata were now leaving to the bridge to protect Tazuna from Zabuza if he does return today. Sasuke on the other hand, was still asleep in bed due to staying up all night thinking.

"Good bye, and please take care of Sasuke while we're gone, okay?" Kakashi said to Tsunami while following Tazuna and his team while thinking, _'He must have stayed up most of the night thinking about what I said to him… I wonder which path he chose, or if he even came to a decision.'_

With that, the team left for the bridge…

* * *

Sasuke woke up with a groan and then looked at the clock on the other side of the room and then completely woke up in alarm when he noticed that he overslept. He then immediately got dressed in record time, and then ran downstairs and asked Tsunami, "Where is everyone?" in a slightly rushed voice.

Tsunami then looked up and said, "Oh! Sasuke, you're up already? Kakashi said that you should still be asleep."

"Tch! I knew it! They left me behind!" Sasuke said, slightly miffed before running out the front door.

He was now darting through the woods from tree-to-tree until he saw a boar and a couple trees cut up.

'_This can't be the work of a hunter because hunters respect their catch and wouldn't just leave it like this after killing it… and then there are these marks on the trees…' _Sasuke thought.

He then looked at the trail and noticed that it lead in the direction of Tazuna's house.

'_These cut marks are placed in the direction of Tazuna's house, Gato must have sent some thugs to capture Tazuna's family, and whoever these guys are, they appear to be pretty cut-happy. I have to get back there fast if I'm right about this!'_

Sasuke then took off back in the direction of Tazuna's house in case his assumption was correct.

* * *

"What happened here?!" Tazuna shouted out in horror when he saw the scene in front of him. All of the bridge workers that he hired were on the ground, some of them were gravely injured, and some of them were already dead. Tazuna then walked over to one of the ones that were still alive and asked, "What happened here?"

"A-a mon…ster…" the bridge worker choked out before his life left him.

'_Is it him?' _Kakashi thought before a mist started to roll in at an unnatural pace.

"Naruto! Hinata! Protect Tazuna!" Kakashi ordered right before he heard Zabuza's demonic laugh.

'_He's back…' _Kakashi thought before he heard Zabuza speak through the mist.

"It looks like you're still with those brats, Kakashi…"

Then a group of Zabuza water clones surrounded the group with their swords ready to strike.

"Do it, Naruto" Kakashi ordered. Naruto then nodded and took off at a remarkable speed while slashing through every single Zabuza water clone at speeds that even Kakashi would have trouble keeping up with. Naruto then ended his slashing barrage by reappearing in the spot that he took off from while sheathing his sword with a smirk on his face.

"Impressive speed, it looks like you've got some competition, Haku" Zabuza spoke in an impressed tone of voice.

"Indeed" Zabuza's masked comrade spoke.

"So we were right… you really are in league with Zabuza" Kakashi said with his usual bored look.

"I'll fight him" Naruto said.

"Are you sure, Naruto?" Hinata asked, a little worried for his safety.

"Of course! Don't worry about me! I'll be fine because I have a new technique under my belt that not even Kakashi-Sensei's Sharingan can keep up with!" Naruto said with a thumbs up to Hinata.

"Alright then, I'll deal with Zabuza while Naruto fights his comrade, and Hinata will guard Tazuna in case one of them gets by us" Kakashi ordered.

"Right!" Naruto and Hinata responded while Naruto stepped forward while Hinata stepped back while getting into a defensive stance with her sword unsheathed.

Haku then took off at Naruto and launched a spinning strike that Naruto easily blocked with his reverse-blade sword, and then pushed Haku back with a flick of his sword and said, "Is this all you have? because if it is then I'm more than disappointed!"

* * *

Sasuke arrived at Tazuna's house just in time to see Inari charging at two thugs that had Tsunami held hostage.

'_Idiot! It's good to know that he's finally standing up for himself, but this is suicidal!'_

Then right before one of the thugs tried to cut Inari in half, Sasuke intercepted the cut and flicked the katana away and delivered a kick to the thug that was hard enough to leave the thug winded. Sasuke then turned to Inari and said in his usual tone of voice, "It's good to know that you're finally standing up for yourself, kid, but that doesn't mean you have to do something suicidal."

Inari just chuckled sheepishly until he cried out, "Look out!"

Sasuke then turned just in time to see the second thug of the group try to cut him in half with his katana. Sasuke then blocked the cut with his kunai, and then parried it and kicked the thug in the gut in a fashion similar to what he did to the other thug a few moments ago.

"Damn brat! I'll cut you up for that!" the first thug angrily growled.

"There won't be enough of you to pick up left once we're done with you!" the second one growled in an equally angry voice.

"Go ahead and try! I dare you!" Sasuke scoffed in a cocky voice.

"Fine! We will!" the thugs then charged at Sasuke, only for Sasuke to throw his kunai knife at them, (which one of them deflected into the water) and then perform handsigns that he finished when they were at him. Sasuke then leaped to the side of the dock that Tazuna's house was at to avoid being chopped in two by one of the thug's swords and shouted out, **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"**

A large fireball was then shot out of Sasuke's mouth and engulfed the thugs, and then pushed the two into the water, screaming in agony from the heat of the flames until they hit the cool water. The two then resurfaced just in time to see two figures grab them by their throats.

"The two of you have failed… so since you two have outlived your usefulness… I guess we'll just have to kill you two!"

"No! Wait! Please!" the two of them cried before the two hired rouge ninja killed them with their poisoned metal clawed hands and dropped them into the water, never to be seen again. The two then turned towards Sasuke and the one on the right said, "And now it's your turn… I'm going to pay you back for that fireball you shot at me last time!"

Sasuke just grunted and said, "Didn't we already beat you two?"

"Yes, you, that blonde idiot, and that white-eyed bitch did beat us, but we managed to escape and this time… you're all alone."

"Maybe so, but I'll still beat the two of you all the same… and by the looks of things, you don't have that chain thing with you, so I doubt either of you are at full strength."

"So you'd think, but we'd just like to point out that that chain weapon of ours, while it was our favorite, is not the only weapon we have. We can also pull off water jutsu like this!" The two of them then started performing handsigns while Sasuke shouted out, "Both of you! Get back!"

Inari and Tsunami decided to follow that order and got back into the house while Sasuke started to perform some handsigns of his own. Both sides then finished and shouted, **"Water Style: Double Waterball Jutsu!" "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"**

Both attacks collided and created a thick fog made entirely of steam, obscuring both sides view of their opponents.

'_Okay… so long as this steam remains present, I'll have to rely on my hearing to know what they're doing'_

Sasuke then heard the sound of shuriken being thrown and barely dodged them by ducking to the ground and throwing a few of his own in the direction the Demon Brothers were when they threw their shuriken. He was then disappointed when he heard his shuriken hit the water instead of the intended targets.

'_This isn't looking good… it's two against one… both of my opponents are Chunin, and they are probably used to fighting in conditions like this… I have to come up with a plan soon or I'm screwed!'_

* * *

Naruto and Haku were currently trading blows with Naruto at the upper hand due to the superior reach of his sword, and his superior speed. Haku then managed to slip through Naruto's guard in a stroke of luck and grabbed onto his sword arm and started to perform one-handed handsigns.

'_He can to that with one hand?! I didn't think that that was possible!'_

Haku then called out, **"Special Jutsu: Flying Water Needles!" **the water that was surrounding Naruto and Haku then turned into pressurized needles that were all aimed at Naruto. Naruto immediately started to look for an opening of some sort and found a small gap right above him. He then charged his wrist with wind chakra, forcing Haku to let go while receiving a few cuts on the hand and then charged his legs with enough chakra to jump and escaped through the gap above him. Naruto then landed a few feet away from Haku, who was currently nursing his right hand and said, "You're going to have to do better than that…"

Naruto then bolted at Haku at top speed and shouted out, **"Whirlpool Super Sonic Sword Style: Ryu Son Sen!"** Naruto then delivered a rapid barrage of sword slashes that left Haku temporarily at his mercy, and then delivered a slash that sent Haku flying backwards until he landed on his back.

Zabuza looked on in amazement and thought, _'that brat beat Haku in speed?!'_

"My reach is longer than yours, I'm faster than you, and I'm stronger than you. You're outclassed, so unless you have some amazing jutsu that you can use to turn the tide of this battle, I suggest you back off and leave Tazuna alone" Naruto stated.

Zabuza then chuckled darkly before saying, "Even if you do manage to drive us back, we have a backup plan… do you happen to remember the Demon Brothers?"

"Yes, but we already beat them and left them tied to a tree to be picked up by our ANBU when they reached them" Kakashi pointed out.

"One would think… but if you must know, I sent Haku here to release them should they end up getting captured, and it turns out that they were. I think that they are probably done capturing the bridge builder's family right about now…" Zabuza said confidently.

"I wouldn't proclaim your victory just yet, Zabuza! In case you haven't noticed… one of our team members isn't here right now. He's guarding Tazuna's family even as we speak, and he's a lot stronger than he was last time, so Sasuke should be able to handle the Demon Brothers just fine" Kakashi retorted with his own air of confidence.

"While I highly doubt that, I'd rather not take my chances… Haku! You do realize that if you keep fighting like this, we'll be driven back?!"

"We can't have that now can we?" Haku answered while standing up and performing a few hand signs while the temperature dropped for some odd reason.

Naruto noticed this and thought, _'Why is it getting cold all of a sudden?'_

Naruto then looked around and noticed that the water that was on the ground was now solid ice and was now in the form of a dome of mirrors. Haku then finished forming his jutsu and called out, **"Ice Style: Demonic Ice Mirrors Jutsu!"**

'_Ice Style?! Isn't that a sub-element kekkei genkai?' _Kakashi thought, _'If it is then Naruto might need some help!'_

However, before Kakashi could take a full step in Naruto's direction, Zabuza's sword came down right in front of him, "Your fight is with me, Kakashi!"

'_What are all these mirrors for?' _Naruto thought as Haku walked and melded into a mirror, causing his image to be shown on all mirrors.

"Now I will show you the true meaning of speed" Haku said as he started to pelt Naruto with senbon, with Naruto only able to block a few and get hit in non-vital areas.

* * *

Sasuke was not fairing any better than Naruto. He managed to lure the Demon Brothers away from Tazuna's house and into the forest until he got cornered all of a sudden. He was now at a small pond with a very high stone outcropping behind him. While Sasuke could climb up that without any problem, he couldn't with the Demon Brothers there because he would be leaving himself wide open.

"Just give up, and then maybe we'll let you live!" the brother to Sasuke's right said.

The brother on the left then charged at a slightly tired Sasuke with his poisoned claw glove outstretched. Time then seemed to flow slowly for Sasuke, at first he thought that this was the end, and his life would then flash before his eyes, but he then noticed that he knew exactly where the Demon Brother planned on landing his blow. Sasuke was then impaled by the Demon Brother's claw… only to disappear in a puff of smoke, leaving a wooden log in his place.

'_Substitution?!'_ the Demon Brothers thought right before Sasuke appeared behind the Demon Brother that attacked him and stabbed him through the heart while saying, "You should give up… on trying to make me give up. I am Sasuke! The last of the Uchiha! I will not fall to the likes of you!"

"So you're the survivor of the Uchiha Massacre? I guess that's why you managed to unlock your Sharingan at such a young age, but it doesn't matter. I will not fall for the same tricks that my brother fell for, and I will avenge him!" the remaining Demon Brother proclaimed while Sasuke looked into his reflection and saw that he really did unlock his Sharingan. His eyes were now crimson red, and each were sporting two comma shaped tomoes, signifying that while it was now unlocked, it is still immature and incomplete.

'_It might not be complete, but I should be able to finish this pretty easily! These two are only good while working as a team. With one of them gone, I should wrap this up in no time!'_ Sasuke thought.

The remaining Demon Brother preformed a few hand signs before shouting out, **"Water Style: Water Spikes Jutsu!"**

Spikes of water then shot out of the pond that Sasuke was standing on, forcing Sasuke to jump onto the stone outcropping that was recently the cause of Sasuke being cornered. The Demon Brother then followed after Sasuke while Sasuke shot up the stone outcropping and took off into the woods again with the Demon Brother in hot pursuit. Sasuke then started pulling out some of his ninja wire and started unraveling enough of it to prepare his next attack. Sasuke then purposely slowed down so that his enemy could catch up to him. He then turned left and hid in an obvious spot behind a tree and threw his ninja wire around the Demon Brother and a tree behind him the very second he saw him, causing his ninja wire to wrap around the Demon Brother and bound him to the tree behind him. Sasuke then flew through some hand seals and shouted out, **"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"**

Flames in the shape of a dragon then shot towards the now defenseless Demon Brother and burned him to a crisp, killing him with the intense heat. Sasuke waited for any sign of movement from the Demon Brother before confirming that he was dead.

'_I really have gotten stronger since the last time I ran into these guys! I'm actually making progress! I may not be anywhere near Itachi's level yet, but I will get there eventually! You'd better watch your step… brother, because I'll be avenging my clan soon enough!'_

Sasuke then took off in the direction of the bridge to check on his team to see if they needed any help at all.

* * *

**Kakashi and Hinata vs. Zabuza**

"Hinata, I need you to be my eyes here, alright? This mist is preventing me from using my Sharingan properly while your Byakugan is unaffected. The sooner we defeat Zabuza, the sooner you can help Naruto" Kakashi said while preparing for Zabuza's attack.

Kakashi was forced to duck and dodge away from Zabuza's zanbato as Zabuza tried to decapitate him. Zabuza then disappeared into the mist and Kakashi waited for him to appear again, and Hinata activated her Byakugan and tracked Zabuza through the mist to make sure that he didn't target the bridge builder and warn Kakashi of an attack.

Zabuza then appeared to Kakashi's left, intent on slashing his Sharingan eye out when Hinata called out, "Sensei, to you left at 9 o'clock!"

Kakashi then looked to his left and dived out of the way to avoid decapitation and threw some shuriken in Zabuza's direction, only for Zabuza to block the shuriken with his zanbato and vanish into the mist again. Things then continued in this pattern for a half hour with Zabuza only able to draw a little blood from Kakashi, but not enough to be considered a decisive hit until both sides started to feel the fatigue of their physical exertion while Hinata's chakra reserves were about halfway depleted and her eyes were beginning to irritate her a little bit.

'_Damn, I'm getting nowhere fast! I have to end this soon or I'm done! The only reason I've survived this long is because of Hinata's Byakugan, I'm definitely going to teach Hinata a few of the techniques I've copied from Zabuza as a reward for all of her hard work once this is over'_ Kakashi thought.

'_Damn Hyuga brat! If it weren't for those eyes of hers I'd be done already! I think it's time to take her down! Then Kakashi will fall in no time at all…' _Zabuza planned out.

Hinata then noticed that Zabuza was now heading for her and immediately drew the sword that Riku gave her and the sword that Kakashi recently gave her as a counterweight for her new technique and said, "Please step back Tazuna!"

Tazuna did as requested, and when he was back a safe distance… Zabuza struck with a downwards slash that Hinata countered by spinning both of her swords in a random, yet at the same time organized fashion at incredible speeds. (Yeah, I know that that last statement was contradictory)

"**Bladed Protective Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Slashes!"**

Hinata's new technique completely reflected Zabuza's attack, causing him to jump backwards to prevent giving her too much of an opening. However, Kakashi used the time that Zabuza spent attacking Hinata to his advantage and brought out a small summoning scroll and preformed hand seals with it while shouting out, "I think it's time we wrapped this up, Zabuza!"

"What are you planning, Kakashi?" Zabuza grumbled in annoyance.

"THIS! **Ninja Art: Tracking Fang Jutsu!"** Kakashi shouted out while unraveling the summoning scroll quickly and wiping his blood across it and slamming the scroll on the ground, initiating the attack.

Zabuza then heard the sound of a pack of dogs coming after him, but he couldn't see them until it was too late. The ninja hounds jumped out of the ground all around him and bit into him at all sides, effectively immobilizing him.

"What?! How did they find me?!"

"Take a look at your sword, Zabuza. While there may not be much on it, my blood is on your sword, my ninja hounds then followed that scent until they found you… It's over, you're immobilized and now I'm going to end this with my one original jutsu!" Kakashi announced while performing a few handsigns and then channeled lightning chakra into his right hand until lightning was visibly radiating from his hand and announced, **"Lightning Blade!"**

However, he was then interrupted by the sound of something shattering, and the sounds of a large crowd's footsteps…

* * *

**Naruto vs. Haku (During Kakashi and Hinata vs. Zabuza)**

'_This isn't looking good… I may be able to block the majority of his attack, but I'm still getting hit! Unless I do something soon, I'm done for!'_ Naruto thought as he continued to deflect and get hit by Haku's senbon needles.

'_How do I stop him? It's almost as if he's attacking me from everywhere at once! Wait… that's it! I'll just have to attack from everywhere as well!' _**"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"**

A large group of Naruto Shadow Clones then emerged from puffs of smoke and launched themselves at the mirrors without a moment of hesitation with Naruto joining them. Only for them to be cut down by Haku before any of them even realized what happened. Naruto however, used the gained memories from the Shadow clones to figure out when Haku was going to attack him and turned to deliver a brutal slash to the face that broke Haku's hunter ninja mask. Naruto recognized him as the person from the woods a few days ago, but pushed it aside for the moment because a moment's hesitation in a fight like this equals death. Naruto then sheathed his reverse-blade sword, removed his pale orange jacket, which landed with a resounding thud that Haku didn't expect, and got into his Batou Jitsu stance.

"That was an impressive tactic, you used your Shadow Clones to track where I was going, and then used your quick reflexes to counterattack, but I won't fall for the same trick twice" Haku stated.

"That's good because I won't have to use it again because I'm ending this right now!" Naruto shouted out.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Haku asked while getting back into a mirror.

"Just hang tight and you'll find out soon enough!"

Haku then started to pelt Naruto with his senbon needles again, but Naruto was more than ready this time. Naruto was now somehow able to follow all of Haku's movements and dodge his senbon effortlessly. Naruto may not have the Sharingan, but his training with his uncle Riku managed to teach him how to anticipate his opponent's movements when he sees them at a level that is close to comparable.

'_He's faster this time… I guess I'll have to increase to full speed now' _Haku thought.

Haku then stated to pelt Naruto with senbon at an even faster pace, yet Naruto was still somehow able to keep up with him!

'_How am I moving this fast? I've never had a speed increase like this before after removing my jacket. I feel like I'm somehow able to keep up with this guy just by fighting him at my full speed!' _Naruto thought.

'_How is he still able to keep up?! Nobody has ever done this before! This shouldn't be possible! I have to finish this now or I'll fail Zabuza!'_

Naruto then managed to decipher Haku's attack pattern and saw just the opening he needed to end the fight.

"Game over!" Naruto announced before re-entering his Batou Jitsu stance and announcing, **"Whirlpool Super Sonic Sword Style: Batou Jitsu!"**

Haku tried to intercept the draw slash with one of his senbon needles, but was knocked unconscious before he even realized what happened. All of Haku's ice mirrors then fell to the ground and shattered.

Naruto looked at Haku and confirmed that he was out cold and then decided to check on Kakashi and Hinata when he heard the sound of an enormous group of birds chirping and the sound of a large group of footsteps coming in his direction.

* * *

**Riku: Evil Cliffhanger Jutsu!!!**

**Kushina: Hey! That wasn't very nice!**

**Riku: I'm only doing what the author asked me to do! It was either do what he told me to do, or have a cow dropped on me from out of nowhere like he did to this Xion person from one of his other fan fics!**

**Kushina: He'd really do that?**

**Riku: Yes, he showed me a video recording of the whole thing. I actually think I have the CD in my pocket right now. (Checks pocket and pulls out CD) I was right!**

**Kushina: Let's watch it! I want to see a cow fall on somebody!**

**(A TV randomly appears out of nowhere with a DVD player attached)**

**Riku: Well that was convenient…**

**Kushina: Less talky more playey!**

**(Puts in CD and sees the embarrassing footage of Naruto and Hinata from the beginning of chapter 8: Squad 7)**

**Riku: Whoops! Wrong CD!**

**Kushina: Awww… that's soooo adorable!**

**Riku: Just wait until you see their reaction when they wake up!**

**(Wake up scene plays and Kushina and Riku laugh hysterically for 5 minutes)**

**Kushina: Hehe…That was hilarious!**

**Riku: I'm so glad I made copies and hid them all over the place. Those two managed to find a few, but I still have a good 15 copies left hidden in places that even Hinata with her Byakugan can't find!**

**Kushina: Review request time! Review or I'll introduce you to a few of my favorite summons!**

**Riku: And by that, she means she'll throw you into the lion's den… literally!**


	15. Mission End and Encounters

**Riku: After a long wait, the next chapter is finally up.**

**Kushina: And that means that I'm one chapter closer to being free from that bastard Danzo**

**Riku: Just be patient and you'll get your chance at tearing him apart limb by limb.**

**Kushina: Oh, I'll do more than just that! I'll also cut his tongue out after the Interrogation Squad squeezes out all the information he has to offer, and then I'll tear him limb from limb, and then I'll execute him Uzumaki style by delivering a thousand non-fatal, but still painful slashes before delivering the final blow!**

**Riku: Aww… that's what I was planning…**

**Kushina: Too late! The author already said that *I'll* be the one that kills Danzo! Disclaimer time!**

**Riku: The author does not own Naruto, just the stuff in this story that wasn't thought up by Kishimoto… (Into walkie talkie) **_**phase one is complete, begin phase two…**_

**Author: I would just like to point out that I am sure that some of you are probably complaining about me keeping Haku a boy and probably want me to change it… WELL TOO BAD! I prefer to respect the characters' sexuality. Thus meaning that since Haku was a femboy in the Manga, that means that he's a femboy in my story too! This also means that Kyuubi is male in my story as well! That's right folks! No femKyuubi for you!**

**Random person that does not respect a character's sexuality: FemKyuubi Nazi!**

**Author: QUIET YOU! (Pulls a bazooka out of an interdimensional hole from behind his back and then fires it at the Random person that does not respect the character's sexuality)**

**(A/N: I have been having a few problems trying to figure out how to correctly spell the names of the techniques from the Hiten Mitsurigi style that I borrowed and renamed for this story, so any help in finding out the correct spelling for the techniques will be greatly appreciated.**

Chapter 14: Mission End, and Encounters

'_Well this is troubling…' _Kakashi thought.

'_Can we really beat that many people?' _Hinata thought while she stared at the vast expanse of thugs hired by Gato.

The mist that was made from Zabuza's Hidden Mist Jutsu has now fully dissipated, and the entire group can now see clearly. The problem with that though is the fact that the group of hired thugs that Gato hired can see them all clearly too!

"So, you've gotten your ass kicked, Zabuza, and by a cyclops and little girl no less! I guess you really are just a _baby demon_!" Gato taunted, stressing the word baby demon to add insult to injury.

"Why are you here, and why do you have all of those thugs with you?" Zabuza asked, probably already knowing the answer.

"I actually already planned on doing this from the beginning. I'm going to have these thugs kill you and everyone else on this bridge, including the old man. Did you actually think that I was going to pay you? All of these thugs put together are less expensive than you! And the best part is… the more of them you manage to kill… the less money I have to pay!" Gato gloated.

The crowd of thugs all then started to cheer things revolving around subjects like killing people and cutting something. While Zabuza on the other hand, now free from Kakashi's ninja hounds, trudged over to Kakashi and said, "This fight is over now, Kakashi. Now that my contract with Gato is void, we no longer have to fight. I believe that a temporary alliance is in order…"

"I believe you're right, Zabuza" Kakashi responded, "How many of them do you think that you can handle?"

"Heh, considering how deeply your dogs bit into my arms, not too many… I won't be wielding my sword again for a while, but I might be able to still use kunai" Zabuza answered while dropping his sword, unable to continue supporting its weight.

While the two Jonin prepared to fight, Gato decided to taunt and display his blatant arrogance even more by ignoring Naruto's presence and prepared to kick Haku. "I believe that I owe this one… you squeezed my arm until it broke."

Gato was then about to kick Haku while he was unconscious when he saw a sword an inch away from his face. "I don't care who you are or how much money you have. A piece of filth like you doesn't deserve to even be in the presence of a person with honor like him!" Naruto spat out with venom at Gato.

"You insolent little brat! How dare you-"

"I dare because I know that you are just a coward that hides behind his money and an army of thugs!" Naruto countered.

"MEN! KILL THIS BRAT!" Gato shouted.

A portion of the thugs then advanced on Naruto, but Naruto tucked Haku's unconscious body under his arm and leaped away with a chakra enhanced jump and landed next to Hinata and Tazuna. The crowd of thugs however, did not stop and continued to progress towards the group. At least until a large fireball streaked across the bridge, frying a few thugs and momentarily stopping the advance.

"Am I late for the party?" Sasuke asked, appearing next to Kakashi and Zabuza.

"Actually, your timing couldn't have been better" Kakashi said with his signature eye smile.

"Ha! It's just another brat! Let's kill them already, guys!" a random thug shouted, causing a cheer that was then stopped again, but this time by an arrow landing in front of the crowd of thugs. The thugs then looked up and noticed almost the entire populace of the village lead by Inari standing before them, every one of them brandishing anything that could be considered a weapon.

"If you come any further into our island, the citizens of this country will stop you with everything that we have!" Inari shouted out with all of his newfound courage.

"Ha! You're all just a bunch of weaklings! Do you really think that any of you will make a difference?" Gato shouted out conceitedly unaware of the kunai that was about to stab him, "How dare you all turn on your master!"

"Do you really think that they see you as their master?" Zabuza spoke in a deep, almost evil voice while piercing one of Gato's lungs with a borrowed kunai.

"Z-Zabuza! How dare you betray me!"

"You betrayed me first, I'm just returning the favor. Oh, and if you truly believe that I'm just a _baby demon_, then I'm sure you won't mind being tortured by _real demons_ IN HELL!" Zabuza shouted as he used a second borrowed kunai to slash Gato's head clean off, shocking all of the thugs for a brief moment, since they all were the only ones close enough to see it happen.

Everything was silent for a minute, until another random thug shouted out in outrage, "Hey! You just took our meal ticket!" causing others to shout out many others to cry out in outrage as well until they all agreed that they should pillage the village and take all that was left.

"NOT GONNA HAPPEN! **MULTI SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!**" Naruto shouted out, creating a horde of Shadow Clones, all brandishing an identical copy of Naruto's Reverse Blade Sword and leaking as much killing intent as they could. While Hinata joined the party by unsheathing both of her swords and standing just slightly out from the crowd of Shadow Clones and glaring at the thugs with her Byakugan. Sasuke also joined by glaring at the thugs with his newly obtained Sharingan activated and blew a few, small warning fireballs at the thugs. Kakashi added a little help as well by landing next to Zabuza and summoned a row of Shadow Clones of his own, choosing to finish demoralizing the thug army with even more added numbers.

"You all really only have two choices now. Retreat, or death, and I personally think that you should all chose the first one" the real Kakashi suggested. The thugs then took his advice, not wishing to face an army at both sides and took the only escape routes that they had, the edge of the bridge and the boat that Gato used to get to the unfinished part of the bridge.

Once every single thug had jumped over the edge of the bridge or escaped onto Gato's boat, all of the Shadow Clones disappeared and the entire populace of the villagers cheered in victory.

The battle for the Wave country was over…

* * *

_2 Weeks Later…_

"The bridge has been completed, thanks to you, but… this is kinda sad" Tazuna said to the group, not exactly willing to say goodbye.

"Don't worry! We'll come and visit someday!" Naruto assured the old bridge builder while Hinata looked at Naruto with admiration, knowing that he was sad to leave, but still didn't show it. Sasuke, on the other hand, just grunted and turned away.

"Well, you all better hope that you all DON'T see me again, because it would most likely mean that I would be under a contract that would require me to kill one of you" Zabuza said, getting a kick out of scaring the villagers.

"Was that really necessary, Lord Zabuza?" Haku asked, now fully healed from getting hit from Naruto's **Battojutsu**.

"Yes, it was, now let's go Haku! We don't have any more time to waste here" Zabuza said, already walking away.

"Coming, Lord Zabuza!"

"We'd better get going too…" Kakashi said, following Zabuza's lead.

"Right!" the Genin responded.

Halfway to the Leaf Village, the two groups then broke off, the Leaf ninja continued on their way to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, while the rogue ninja continued on their way to parts that they refuse to divulge. Then, a few days later… Team 7 returned to the village.

* * *

"Ahhh! There really is no place like home!" Naruto yawned in a very relaxed tone.

"It sure is" Hinata added.

"Then maybe you should give Naruto a 'welcome home' kiss…" Kakashi whispered into Hinata's ear, earning a beat red blush, and a string of indecipherable stutters in response.

"Huh? Is something wrong Hinata? Are you alright? Your face is red" Naruto asked.

"N-nothing Naruto! I-I'm perfectly fine!" Hinata answered in a slightly panicked voice and a slowly dissipating blush.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Okay then…" Naruto trailed off while moving towards the Hokage tower.

'_You're denser than a ten ton brick, loser…'_ Sasuke thought while following Naruto's lead.

"You really should have given Naruto that kiss" Kakashi whispered to Hinata before walking off as well, leaving Hinata at the village gates with a REALLY painfully red blush, using every bit of her willpower to stay conscious.

* * *

"So, Tazuna lied about the mission rank due to his inability to pay for a higher ranking mission?" Sarutobi asked for confirmation.

"Yes, but he also agreed that the village will pay for the rest of the mission when the country gets back on its feet" Kakashi responded.

"So, what became of Zabuza?" the aged Hokage asked.

"We parted ways with him and his apprentice, Haku halfway between the Wave country and here" Kakashi explained.

"Do you know where he was headed?"

"No"

"Well… maybe it is for the best…" Sarutobi concluded.

"So long as we are not forced to look for Zabuza, I think we'll get along just fine with him" Kakashi added.

* * *

_A few weeks later…_

"Naruto! Focus!" Riku demanded as Naruto went through a quick sparring session with his uncle. Naruto may be able to use the **Battojutsu** now, but he still is not even close to truly perfecting the technique.

"I'M TRYING! But this isn't easy Uncle!" Naruto shot back.

"Did you honestly expect it to be? The **Battojutsu **is one of the hardest techniques in the arsenal of the Whirlpool Supersonic Style to truly perfect! Now try again!" _'Although, I honestly can't believe that he's been able to get this far in his training already. It took me almost a whole six years to obtain the speed needed to execute the __**Battojutsu**__, and Naruto managed to pull it off in only three! I wonder if __**the Namikaze Speed Factor**__ has anything to do with this…'_

"No! I didn't expect it to be this easy, but what's agitating me is the fact that trying to perfect this technique is so FRUSTRATING!" Naruto shouted out.

Riku then sighed at Naruto's behavior, they've been at it for just over two hours now, and two hours of only marginal progress has really gotten on Naruto's nerves. "Alright then, Naruto, just give it one more try and then we'll be done for the day. After all, I really shouldn't spend the whole day kicking you around!" Riku teased.

"Shut it!" Naruto spat as he got even angrier and more frustrated by the second, not realizing that his eyes were starting to turn red. Riku however, noticed this.

"Naruto! Calm down! You're entering **Rage Mode**!" Riku warned, causing Naruto to snap out of his anger induced state, and enter a deep breathing exercise to regulate his anger. Naruto had to do this every time Riku demanded that he needed to calm down to prevent himself from accidentally going too far and entering a berserker rage state.

"Do you have your head on straight now, Naruto?" Riku asked, a little concerned for his nephew's wellbeing. _'I know that it really isn't a good idea to rile him up like that so much, but he needs to learn to control his anger better. He has both the Uzumaki Kekkei Genkai __**Rage Mode**__, and the Kyuubi sealed inside of him. He needs to control his anger better, or the combination of both the Kyuubi and __**Rage Mode **__could spell disaster someday.'_

"Yeah, but I am a little depressed that I haven't fully mastered this technique yet…"

"Hey, don't worry about it too much, Naruto. I'm not expecting you to get it right away, did you know that it took me a whole six years of training for me to obtain the speed needed to actually use to **Battojutsu**? And then another whole year to fully master the technique?"

"Really? It took you that long, Uncle?" Naruto asked, wondering if Riku was just lying to make him feel better.

"Yes, really, so don't worry about not getting to where you want to be so much. Loosen up and enjoy the free time that you have right now. We can pick up on where we left off tomorrow, now get out of here and spend some time with your friends!" Riku ordered in a light tone.

"Yes, sir!" Naruto responded in a mock salute as he took off in the direction of town.

'_Heh, he really is practically sis in Minato's body, he behaves just like her…'_

_

* * *

_

"Hey! Hinata!" Naruto called out as he approached her on one of the village's back roads.

Hinata then turned around in Naruto's direction and responded, "Oh, Naruto! Are you done training with Riku already?"

"Yeah, but it did end a little earlier than usual"

"You got angry again and almost activated **Rage Mode** again, didn't you?" Hinata asked rhetorically and wistfully.

"Yeah, I wish he didn't piss me off on purpose though sometimes, even if it is only to help me control my anger better."

"You know that he's only doing that so that you don't accidentally hurt somebody else like you accidentally did to him, you do remember that day, right?" Hinata comforted.

"How can I not? It was one of the worst days of my life. If you and Uncle Riku didn't convince me that I wasn't a monster, then… then I probably would have gone off the deep end" Naruto remembered.

"Yeah, that was probably one of the worst days of my life too… right up there with my excommunication…"

The event that Naruto and Hinata were remembering was the day when Naruto first activated the Uzumaki Kekkei Genkai, **Rage Mode**. A bloodline that allows the user to literally convert his or her rage into chakra, the angrier the user gets the more chakra the user can use. Also, the angrier the user gets the more user's strength, speed, and reflexes increase. However, there is a drawback, the more the user gets angry, the harder it is for the user to listen to reason and calm down until _after_ the object of the user's rage is destroyed. This is especially harmful to Naruto due to his 'unique' situation, because of the Kyuubi sealed inside of him, he can't use **Rage Mode **without risking the Kyuubi's influence. The combination of both equals Naruto entering a berserker rage where he can't tell the difference between friend and foe. This has only happened once, a few months before Naruto graduated from the academy to be exact. The event left Riku with a claw-like scar on his chest and hospitalized, Hinata temporarily traumatized but physically unharmed, and Naruto lost and distraught for a week.

Once Riku was well enough to move around again, he started by explaining what really happened on the night of the Kyuubi attack to Naruto and Hinata (Leaving out the info on Madara due to the fact that he believes that they are not ready for that information yet), and also explained that Naruto is not the Kyuubi and that he was the demon's jailor, not the demon itself.

Hinata accepted this after thinking it over for a minute or two and managed to help Naruto accept it as well. It was also then when Riku forbid Naruto to ever use **Rage Mode **again, with the exception of using it as a last resort when it is the only option left to save his life or the life of someone precious to him.

The two of them were then brought out of their tragic flashbacks when they heard the sound of a little kid screaming for help. The duo then nodded to each other and darted off in the direction of the cries of distress.

* * *

The duo arrived at the scene to see a Sand ninja holding a kid by the collar of his shirt in a threatening manner. It looked like he was angry about something and was talking about the kid running into him and teaching the 'brat' a lesson. There was also blonde haired girl with her hair back in four buns behind the other Sand ninja, claiming that if he wants to get into trouble, he's on his own.

"What are Sand ninja doing here?" Naruto whispered to Hinata.

"Didn't you hear anything yet, Naruto? The Chunin Exams are coming up this week, and they're being hosted here" Hinata answered in a whisper.

"That explains what they're doing here, but that doesn't excuse what they're doing right now. I think it's time for us to intervene, don't you agree, Hinata?"

"Yes, that's Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson, there'd be a serious international incident if they hurt him, we should intervene now"

The two then made their presence known by jumping out of the tree that they hid themselves in and landing in the middle of the street. Naruto chose to speak first to get the ninja's attention, "Hey! You in the cat's pajamas! Put the kid down now! I don't know if he did something to offend you or not, but what you're doing right now could turn into an international incident if you don't stop."

"Heh, and what are YOU going to do about it? Leaf Genin are weak!" the arrogant Sand ninja replied.

"You shouldn't underestimate us at first glance, and you really should put Konohamaru down and leave while you still can, because if you don't, we will have to use force to stop you" Hinata subtly threatened.

"Are you threatening me, bitch?" the Sand ninja growled, earning a Byakugan glare from Hinata, and a feral glare from Naruto.

"Alright! That does it! I'm kicking your ass now!" Naruto shouted. Naruto might be able to handle jerks making fun of some people that he knows, but when Hinata is threatened, he will always immediately rush to her defense without a second thought.

"Bring it, brat!" the Sand ninja said, tossing Konohamaru into the direction of the nearest wall. Not even knowing that Hinata was already there to catch him and give the boy the chance to run away. The other Sand ninja just sighed and said, "I'm not involved with this in any way, so just leave me out of this, Kankuro."

The Sand ninja now known as Kankuro started by extending chakra wires from his fingertips and used them in an attempt to trip Naruto, but Naruto saw them, jumped over them effortlessly, and then delivered a midair kick to Kankuro's jaw, causing him to spit out blood and land face down on the ground.

"And what have you learned from this?" Naruto mocked while Kankuro glared at him and responded, "You know, I really hate punks like you…"

Kankuro then redirected his chakra strings into the mummy-like object on his back and was about to bring out whatever was inside it when Naruto appeared behind with his sword at Kankuro's throat. Naruto then said, "I'm not going to warn you again, go away, or I'll be forced to kick your ass…"

The girl was rather impressed by Naruto's performance and thought, _'I'm gonna have to get to know this person on a 'personal' level…'_

Kankuro however, didn't listen, all he thought was, _'Gotcha!'_

He was about to twitch his fingers in a way that would release what was mummified on his back when a rock hit his wrist, distracting him and making him look up at the tree that the rock came from.

"What are you idiots doing in our village?" Sasuke asked while bouncing a few more rocks in his hand.

The girl then made her own mental commentary again by thinking, _'Hmmm… this one is pretty handsome and impressive too…'_

Kankuro however, spat out, "Tch, another guy that pisses me off…"

"Get lost you clown"

"Tch, I hate showoffs like you the most!" Kankuro spat as he was about to reach for his mummified puppet when Naruto reminded him, "Are you completely unaware of the sword at your throat? And you, with the sand gourd, why don't you get down here too?"

Kankuro's eyes immediately changed from a look of annoyance to one of fear when he noticed who else was in the tree and whispered, "G-Gaara."

"Kankuro, you are a disgrace to our village…" a voice came from the redhead hanging upside down from the tree, catching Sasuke completely off guard.

'_How could the loser sense him while I couldn't? He was right next to me the whole time dammit!'_ Sasuke thought.

"L-listen Gaara, they started it!" Kankuro accused.

"Shut up… or I'll kill you" Gaara flatly replied while Naruto decided to finally release Kankuro due to the fact that it looked like Kankuro lost the will to fight.

"A-alright, I'm sorry!"

"I apologize too, I should have stopped him from making a fool of himself" the female ninja added.

Gaara just nodded and turned his head to Sasuke, "I apologize for my teammates' behavior" Gaara said as he disappeared in a swirl of sand, only to reappear between his teammates.

"We didn't come here to play around Kankuro, Temari, and showing up early is not an excuse" Gaara addressed his teammates, "Let's go."

"Hold it!" Sasuke demanded as he descended from his perch, "You three are from the Sand village, right? Our villages may be allied, but you still need permission to enter our village, so state your purpose. Your answer may depend on whether or not we let you go."

"Sasuke, haven't you heard? The Chunin Exams are coming up this week, so it's obvious that that's why they're here" Naruto answered for them.

"Well, at least some of you haven't been living under a rock" Temari said as she walked towards Naruto and brought her head dangerously close to Naruto's causing him to slightly back away nervously, and make Hinata give her the Byakugan glare. "And what's your name, hot stuff?"

"I-it's Naruto, and can you please back away and respect my personal space?"

'_Is that bitch trying to flirt with Naruto?'_ Hinata thought.

"Why? I thought that maybe we should use this chance to get to know each other better…" Temari said in a seductive voice.

Hinata, on the other hand, immediately intervened by pulling Naruto away by the wrist and quickly saying, "I just remembered that there's somewhere we need to be right now! So if you excuse us…"

Hinata then used her distraction to run away with Naruto while angrily thinking, _'HOW DARE THAT HUSSY TRY TO FLIRT WITH __**MY**__ NARUTO! I HOPE THAT KAKASHI-SENSEI ENTERS US IN THE CHUNIN EXAMS JUST SO THAT I CAN KICK HER SLUTTY ASS!'_

_

* * *

_

_The Next Day at Team 7's meeting place…_

"He's late… AGAIN!" Naruto shouted.

"You're acting like you didn't expect it" Sasuke stated flatly.

'_I hope that Sand-Bitch doesn't come anywhere near MY Naruto…'_ Hinata thought, strongly holding onto a grudge against Temari.

"Yo!" Kakashi stated as he appeared in front of his Genin team in a puff of smoke.

"You're late" the whole team said flatly.

"Sorry, but I got lost on the road of life"

"If you're going to lie, at least make the lie believable" Naruto growled.

"Maybe next time, but now onto business… I know that this is a little sudden, but I have taken the liberty of nominating the three of you for the Chunin Exams" Kakashi said as he passed out slips to the three Genin.

'_Finally, a chance to prove myself and get stronger…'_ Sasuke thought.

'_This is going to be fun! Maybe I'll even get another chance to kick makeup boy's ass!' _Naruto thought.

'_Oooh, this is going to be good! I really hope I get to face that Sand-Hussy in the exams, I have every intention of establishing my territory and showing that bitch that Naruto is _OFF_ LIMITS!' _Hinata thought while planning a certain Sand kunoichi's demise.

* * *

_In a hotel on the other side of the village…_

Temari sneezed three times in a row.

"Are you alright sis?" Kankuro asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Did you ever hear the saying that if you sneeze three times in a row, that means that somebody hates you?" Temari replied.

* * *

"However, this is only a nomination, whether you choose to take the exams or not is completely up to you three. Those who sign those papers are to turn them in at room 301 at the academy by 4 p.m. tomorrow. That is all" Kakashi added before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Done!" Hinata said with a pen in her right hand and a completely filled out form in her left.

"Wow! You're really eager for this aren't you?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, I am, now are you going to sign your form now, or later Naruto?" Hinata answered while offering Naruto her pen.

"I'm gonna sign now!" Naruto said eagerly as he took the pen and began filling out the slip.

"Hey, hand me that pen when you're done, Naruto" Sasuke said, wanting to get his form filled out as quickly as possible.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

"Someone is watching us, Haku… I can feel it" Zabuza said, while staying very alert.

"Is it the Hunter Ninja?" Zabuza's apprentice asked.

"No… this guy is far more malevolent… we need to lose him now. He makes the Hunter Ninja and Kakashi put together look like nothing!" Zabuza answered while picking up the pace.

"Yes, Lord Zabuza!" Haku responded while following in suit.

"I'm afraid that it's already too late to escape, Zabuza of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist…" a deep voice said from the shadows.

"Who are you?" Zabuza demanded.

"I'm pretty sure that you already know my identity, even if it is believed that I died during the 3rd Great Shinobi War at the hands of Riku Uzumaki…" the deep voice responded as he stepped out of the shadows. Revealing a man with long silver hair, a black trench coat that was revealing his chest, grey shoulder guards, and an enormously long katana.

Zabuza's eyes widened in disbelief as he reached for his sword and said, "Impossible… you're supposed to be dead…"

"Lord Zabuza, who is he?" Haku asked, already afraid of this person.

"An SS Class criminal from the dead Hidden Whirlpool Village that is supposed to be dead… **Sephiroth the Sword Stalker!**"

* * *

**Author: AUTHOR STYLE: EVIL CLIFFHANGER JUTSU!**

**Kushina: AGAIN?**

**Author: Yes Kushina, again**

**Kushina: It's not fair, it's not fair… IT'S NOT FAIR!**

**Riku: So somebody that you're practically borrowing from Final Fantasy VII that I supposedly killed during the 3****rd**** Great Shinobi War is alive and is going to be a major antagonist in this story?**

**Author: Yes**

**Kushina: What's his background story?**

**Author: It will be slowly revealed, I actually originally planned on making him your older brother, but then decided to make that a different borrowed character from Final Fantasy.**

**Riku: Who is the person that you plan on making the third member of the Uzumaki Trio then?**

**Author: He won't be making any living appearances; he'll only appear in your memories. His first appearance in this story will be in the chapter called, "On that Wretched Day, in that Far off Place."**

**Kushina: Sounds cryptic**

**Riku: Most likely a tragic chapter**

**Kushina: Review request time! Review, or both Riku and I will go Rage Mode on your asses!**

**Enemy Profile: Sephiroth the Sword Stalker**

**- Age 40  
**

**- Class: SS Rank**

**- Origin: Hidden Whirlpool**

**- Ninja type: Assassin**

**- Preferred attack style: Kenjutsu**

**- Weapon name: Masamune  
**

**- Primary element: Earth**

**- Secondary element: Fire**

**- Summons: Unknown if any**

**-Bio: Sephiroth was born in the Hidden Whirlpool village and quickly rose through the ranks and became a Jonin before he even turned 9. He was friends with both Riku's Sensei and the eldest member of the Uzumaki Trio. He was also idolized by most of the ninja population of the Hidden Whirlpool and feared by all of his enemies before he even entered his 20's. During the Third Great Shinobi War, Sephiroth then fell into madness through unknown means and murdered Riku's sensei in a village not too far away from the Hidden Whirlpool, and then started to target anyone that was proficient in any form of swordplay (Mostly members of the Uzumaki Clan and the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist due to their specialization in swords). A pursuit team composed of the Uzumaki Trio eventually cornered him at the Valley of the End in the Land of Fire two years later. During the battle, Sephiroth mortally wounded the eldest member of the trio, traumatized and knocked out Kushina, and was thrown off the highest cliff in the valley by a gravely wounded Riku. The end result of the battle was the death of Riku's older brother, Kushina requesting an honorable discharge from duty, and then moving to the Hidden Leaf Village (Where she met Minato), and Riku receiving a medal of honor and hailed as a war hero.**

***In the end, one is captured (by death), the other flies away, and the last stays behind to become a hero***

**- That last remark was something Genesis said from Crisis core (Except the by death part)**

**One last thing, I want you all to at least try to guess the identities of Riku's deceased sensei and older brother, and what caused Sephiroth's fall into madness in this story (It's actually fairly obvious if you already know who causes almost all of the problems in the Naruto universe). You don't have to leave it in the form of a review, but it would be appreciated.  
**


	16. Exams

**Riku: What took you so long to update?**

**Author: Ummm… I dunno…**

**Kushina: Answer the question before I bring out 'Old Slappy!' (Removes storage scroll from storage pouch)**

**Author: Who's 'Old Slappy?'**

**Riku: You don't wanna know, now I suggest you just answer the question**

**Author: Alright! I've been too busy relaxing and thinking up scenarios that I can add to this story and a few of my other ones to make them more exciting! There. Happy?**

**Kushina: Thank you (Puts storage scroll back)**

**Riku: Who says the disclaimer this time?**

**Kushina: ME! You said it last time! Ahem! The author does not own Naruto, so don't sue us!**

**Random lawyer: (Chanting) Sue! Sue! Sue!**

**Another lawyer: (Chanting) Sue! Sue! Sue! (More begin popping out of nowhere)**

**Author: AUUGH! They're popping out of the woodwork!**

**Riku: Quick! Begin **_**Operation: Lawsuit Killer!**_

**Kushina: Roger! And in the meantime… enjoy reading the chapter!**

**Author: Take this! And this! (Shooting lawyers with bazooka labeled "Lawyer's Bane")**

Chapter 15: Exams

Devastation

That is what Haku saw when he regained consciousness. His first reaction on instinct was to see if Zabuza was alright, but the problem was that he couldn't find him. Minutes passed and he slowly began to panic mentally. Trees were uprooted and charred; puddles and miniature craters littering the ground, and slash marks were everywhere and on everything.

It was only a matter of time until it started to rain and Haku found an enormous crater at least fifty feet deep and fifty feet across. In the center of the crater, Zabuza's sword was sticking out of the ground and there were ashes surrounding it. It took Haku a good five minutes to realize that those ashes were Zabuza's, and that Zabuza was dead. There wasn't even a body to bury because it was completely incinerated, leaving behind nothing but ashes and his sword, the Executioner's Blade.

Tears started streaming down Haku's face as the rain started to fall even harder until it was impossible to tell if Haku was still crying or not. Countless thoughts were running through Haku's mind until he couldn't think of anything anymore. His mouth felt dry, his throat burned, his head hurt, and his body felt like it was trapped in ice. He couldn't think anymore as mind was overwhelmed by grief, because the only person that he truly saw as a role model and as a father figure… was dead.

"Oh no! Zabuza! What did he do to you? This can't be happening! It isn't fair!"

…

"ZABUZA!"

* * *

_Back in the Leaf Village…_

Naruto is now going through one last inventory check through his bag to make sure that he is ready to take the Chunin Exams, "Alright, it looks like I have everything I need right here! Hinata! Are you done packing everything that you'll need yet?"

"Just give me another minute!" Hinata responded from across the hall.

"You two better hurry up or you'll be late! You only have an hour left before the designated time for your exams to start!" Riku warned from downstairs.

"And I only need a few more seconds to finish preparing!" Hinata shouted.

'_This is going to be a long morning… scratch that… a very LONG day' _Riku thought as he looked out the kitchen window. _'I my suspicions are correct, Danzo is going to make his move today, and if not, then it will be during the finals, and I'm almost certain that he's going to use Kushina to try and capture either me, or Naruto… possibly both of us. *Sigh* When will power-hungry morons like him learn that schemes like this always backfire?'_

"Alright uncle! We're going now, wish us luck!" Naruto shouted as he and Hinata left for the Academy building.

'_Humph! They're gonna need it if this bad feeling I have really means something! Good luck Naruto, you too Hinata… I have a feeling that you'll need it!'_ Riku thought as he leaned back in his chair and drank some Green Tea.

'_I have a feeling that this month is going to be full of surprises… both good and bad. They'll probably happen at any given moment… shit! I really hope that I didn't invoke Murphy's Law just now!' _ but sadly, he did… because a sword that he had sealed in his left arm unsealed itself, leaving him staring at it with wide eyes of disbelief. It is a zweihander type sword with two holes in a vertical line above the center of the handle guard. The handle guard itself is plated gold with a wing-like motif, and it also has a deadly sharp blade running down one end while the other side is blunted steel.

'_Sensei's sword just unsealed itself… what does this mean? I already knew that the Buster Sword has a spirit of its own, and is a link between its current true wielder and those of the past. Does this mean that its next wielder is going to reveal himself soon? The scroll Sensei left behind about the nature of the Buster Sword said that something like this will happen when the next true wielder will reveal himself __**soon**__, and that it will start to glow when its next true wielder finally reveals himself… who is it? Who is this sword's next true wielder?' _Riku pondered this new mystery for a few minutes before finally deciding that he'll worry about it later and sealed the sword back in its seal on his left arm before heading to the Hokage's office.

* * *

'_Sasuke is really going to get on my very last nerve someday!' _Naruto thought as he saw Sasuke taunting the boy in the neon green leotard, oh, did I forget to mention that he also has a ridiculous bowl shaped haircut and absurdly large eyebrows that threatened to eat his face?

Anyway, this absurd situation started when guy in the green suit by the name of Rock Lee challenged Sasuke to a fight. The reason? Because he said that he wanted to test his strength against the 'Rookie of the Year.' Sasuke of course, being the ass with a superiority complex that he is, accepted without a second thought while verbally claiming that he would win easily.

Regardless of the fact that Hinata warned them that they would get in trouble for this, Sasuke fought anyway… and got his ass handed to him. Even though Lee only got one hit on Sasuke, it was enough for Sasuke to finally see that he couldn't beat Lee the way he is now. However, before Lee could deal the blow that would have knocked Sasuke out cold, the weirdest thing that Team 7 has ever seen appeared. A talking turtle with a leaf headband wrapped around his neck intervened by shouting at Lee, ordering him to stop. At first, the team thought that the turtle was Lee's sensei, but that first thought was proven wrong when Lee's _real_ sensei, Might Gai appeared on the turtle's back in a puff of smoke and began to lecture Lee. This then lead to a talk about something called, 'Flames of Youth' which then lead to both of them giving each other a manly hug with an absurd 'Sunset and Waves' genjutsu that nobody from the team could dispel, so Team 7 did the only thing left to do to escape the 'youthful' monstrosity… they ran.

* * *

"Well, here we are. *shiver* I think I'm going to have nightmares about that genjutsu. The sunset and waves aren't that bad, but the fact that two **GUYS** were hugging in the background turned it into something that can mentally scar you for life!" Naruto complained as they headed for the examination room.

"It wasn't that bad, Naruto… *shiver* Okay, scratch that, I think I'm going to have nightmares about it too!" Hinata attempted to console before freaking out too.

Sasuke just did his usual grunt, but internally shivered too at the mere thought of the sunset monstrosity. It was also at that moment that Kakashi appeared in front of double doors of the examination room "It's good to see that you three made it, I almost thought that one of you might wimp out."

Naruto just simply muttered sarcastically, "Geez, thanks for believing in us, Kakashi-sensei…"

"Well, since you're all here, you can now all formally register for the Exams. It's a good thing that all three of you came because only groups of three can participate in the exams, that's just how it has always been" Kakashi explained.

"So what you're saying is that if one of us chose not to show up then-" Hinata said before Kakashi finished for her, "-I wouldn't be able to let you in. However, it's a moot point since you're all here, so I guess all I have left to do for you three now is let you pass. Good luck, because you're probably going to need it at some point!"

"Thanks sensei!" Naruto replied as Kakashi stepped out of the way to let the team pass through.

The team had just entered the room, and was already slightly intimidated by what they saw, which was a very large crowd of Genin from many different ninja villages. Sasuke's natural reaction was to glare at the crowd to hide the fact that he is slightly afraid. Naruto's reaction was voiced as, "That's…. a lot of Genin…"

Hinata however, was too focused on searching for Temari to make sure that her prey made it. She has absolutely no intention of letting her off the hook that easily, but something else caught her attention instead. She felt someone glaring at her in particular; she looked in the direction of the presence and saw a member of the Hyuga clan. However, this person is not just any member of her former clan, this person is Neji Hyuga, prodigy of the Hyuga clan, and Hinata's cousin. He is very high up on Hinata's list of people she plans on beating the living daylights out of, and was one of the people that made her former life hell. Hinata then returned Neji's glare with equal intensity, and for a moment the entire room felt like it was as cold as ice before Neji just gave Hinata a snort of contempt and looked for something else to catch his interest.

Neji's thoughts on that moment were, _'Humph, so you finally grew a spine during your exile, but it doesn't matter. Once a failure, always a failure! Should we fight each other during these exams you will lose, fate has already decided it!'_

Hinata's thoughts however, were a little different, _'So, you're participating in these exams too, Neji... I hope we get to fight each other soon because it's payback time for all the torment you've put me through in the past!'_

Hinata's internal rant was then interrupted when she heard someone shout, "Gotcha now, Hinata!", and felt someone hugging her from behind. She then turned her head and realized that this person is Kiba and it appears that he is in the exams too. "What the? Let go of me Kiba! Naruto, help!"

"On it!" Naruto replied as he used his sheathed sword as a crowbar to get the mutt-fanboy off Hinata, and succeeded after a few seconds of struggling and Kiba's complaints.

"Hey, screw-up! Now that you're done prying dog-boy off Hinata, can you get _this_ off me?" Sasuke asked, referring to Ino, who has latched herself onto Sasuke from behind.

"Auugh! They're coming out of the woodwork!" Naruto yelled, but before Naruto could even decide whether or not he should help Sasuke, he was interrupted by an old friend speaking up.

"Oh, it's you guys. I knew this was gonna be a drag, but I didn't know it was gonna be this bad!" Shikamaru complained with his usual lazy attitude while Choji stood right beside him while stuffing his face with chips.

"Hey, Shikamaru! It's been a while! What have you been up to?" Naruto asked while greeting his friends.

"This and that, I see that Hinata still has that little fanboy problem. Tch! When will these idiots learn that pestering someone into liking you doesn't work? It's such a drag!" the lazy Nara answered and complained at the same time.

"It looks like the gang's back together again! Even Shino and Sakura are here, but what amazes me the most is that Sakura hasn't latched herself onto Sasuke yet!" Naruto remarked while pointing out the stoic Shino, and Sakura, who looks like she's ready to murder Ino, but is stopped by Shino who says to the now semi-fangirl, "You do remember Kurenai-sensei's punishment for fangirlism, right?"

This caused Sakura to shiver and look away from Sasuke and said to her teammate, "Yes, I remember. I thought that I finally broke out of my fangirl phase, but I guess I haven't completely broken it yet…"

Shino just nodded at this and focused his attention on the crowd.

It was also at that moment when a silver haired Genin walked up to the group and warned, "Hey, you guys! You might wanna try keeping it down a little. I mean, no offence, but you're the nine rookies right? Fresh outta the academy? I wouldn't try to stand out if I were you, this isn't exactly a class fieldtrip."

"Well who asked you? Who are you?" Ino rebutted.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi, but really, look around you… you've made quite an impression" Kabuto pointed out.

And sure enough, the group really did make an impression. One that was big enough to make almost every Genin in the room glare at them!

"As you can see, this exam makes everyone very tense, and it can also make some of them very touchy. I wouldn't suggest rubbing them the wrong way right now… but you can't help it. How can I expect you guys to know how things work? You're just rookies! You actually remind me of myself a while back" Kabuto explained.

"You said your name is Kabuto, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah"

"This isn't the first time you've taken the exam?" she asked.

Kabuto answered by saying, "It's actually… my seventh"

This shocked the group, some started to wonder just how hard the exams really are, while some started to get suspicious. Naruto is one of those people, _'Seventh try? These exams are either incredibly difficult, or this guy is up to something… or he has just simply had a horrible run of bad luck…'_

"You must really be an expert by now if you've been here so much!" Sakura said.

"Sorta" was Kabuto's response to Sakura's comment.

Kiba then spoke up by saying, "Hey, that means that you can give us all sorts of inside tips!"

Shikamaru then snorted incredulously, "Yeah, some expert! He's never passed!"

Kabuto then tried to defend himself while scratching the back of his head nervously, "Well, seventh time's the charm, right?"

Shikamaru then continued, "So I guess all the rumors about the exams being tough are true… what a drag…"

"Hang on, don't give up hope yet. Maybe I can help you kids out a little…" Kabuto said while grabbing a deck of orange cards out of his pocket. "… with my ninja info cards.

"Ninja info cards? What's that?" Hinata asked.

"It's hard to explain, but these cards have been chakra encoded with everything I've learned over the past four years. I've got over two-hundred of them, so you see, I haven't been _completely_ wasting my time" Kabuto explained while kneeling down and placing his deck on the ground. "They may not look like much at the first glance, in fact… they appear blank, don't want just anyone seeing this stuff!" Kabuto said while twirling a card under his index finger.

"What are you doing?" was Sakura's question when she saw this.

"I'm adding my chakra so it can reveal its secrets… like this for example" was Kabuto's reply as he finished administering his chakra to the card, revealing a map of the elemental nations with numbers on them. Which Kabuto explained as a map of how many Genin were sent to take the exam from each nation.

Sasuke was the next to speak up by asking, "Do those cards also show any info on the other candidates, individually?"

"They might… do you have anyone special in mind?"

"I might" was Sasuke's response while narrowing his eyes.

"Well, I can't promise that my information will be completely accurate, but I have at least something on just about everyone. Including you guys of course" Kabuto said while fixing his deck. "So tell me who you want to know about, give me a description, where they're from, whatever. Anything at all…"

"Gaara of the Desert, and Rock Lee" Sasuke replied flatly.

Hinata also chose to speak up and say, "Add Neji Hyuga to the list too"

"Well that's no fun! You even know their names, that'll make it too easy!" Kabuto complained as he administered chakra to three cards. "Here they are."

"Show them to me" Sasuke glared.

"Alright, first up is Rock Lee" Kabuto said as he revealed the information on the card, "He's about a year older than you guys… Mission experience, looks like 11 C-Ranks and 20 D-Ranks. His sensei is Gai, and it looks like his Taijutsu has radically improved over the last year, but his other skills are pretty shifty… It looks like he got a lot of attention as a Genin last year, but chose not to participate, so this'll be his first time as a candidate, same as you guys. His teammates are Tenten and Neji Hyuga." Hearing her cousin's name made Hinata narrow her eyes and think, _'So Neji's on this guy's team…'_

"Neji's next since the first guy is on his team" Kabuto said as he revealed Neji's information on the next card, "He's also about a year older than you guys… his mission experience is the same as Lee's, his Taijutsu ability is far above average, probably due to his Gentle Fist training under his family. He's also the prodigy of his clan, even if he is a part of the Branch House."

Due to hearing information about himself being divulged, Neji chose to speak up and say, "Add Hinata Hyuga to the list of people you'll be divulging information on."

"Alright, just let me finish Sasuke's request first" Kabuto responded while pushing chakra into the third card, revealing information on Gaara, "Mission experience, 8 C-Ranks and… get this! 1 B-Rank as a Genin, and it looks like there's not much more information on this guy, but I have heard that he's survived every mission without so much as a scratch on him!"

"The dude got a B-Rank as a Genin? And has never even been injured?" Shikamaru said nervously.

"What's the deal with this guy?" Naruto asked rhetorically while Sasuke just glared at the card.

"And now for Hinata…" Kabuto said as he applied chakra to another card, "Alright, Mission experience stands at 11 D-Ranks and 1 C-Rank that got bumped up due to an incident that I don't have any information on. He sensei is the Legendary Copy Ninja Kakashi Hatake, and seems to prefer Kenjutsu over Taijutsu and knows a little bit in Water Style Ninjutsu too. Her teammates are Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, and it says here that she doesn't have a last name anymore… I wonder why."

"I can answer that" Hinata spoke up, "The reason is because I threw it away, I refuse to associate myself with an arrogant, self-centered clan that has a runaway superiority complex and enslaves their own family!"

This made the group of rookies fall silent, they all knew that the topic of the Hyuga Clan was a touchy subject for Hinata, but they never even had so much of a hint of why until now.

* * *

"So…if our hunch is correct, then it's probably going to happen this week" Riku said as he leaned against a wall in the Hokage office.

"You'll have to be on guard at all times now, Danzo may come after you at any given moment, and I've also chosen to have a few ANBU keep a watch on Naruto from a distance during the Second Exam should he pass the first one to make sure that any agents Danzo might have placed in the exams don't abduct him" the old Hokage warned.

"That's probably a good idea, if Danzo is as bad as I think he is then I wouldn't put it past him to try to interfere with the exams… So, how should we spring the trap that should have Danzo sick my sister on me?" Riku asked.

"It'll be a gamble, but you'll have to go some place where you'll be completely alone. That'll probably be the moment he will strike since he will want to make sure that you won't have any reinforcements. There's a good chance that he's probably been training Kushina to the point that she would at least be able to weaken you to the point that capturing you would be easy. I suggest that you let me send a few ANBU to help you out-" Sarutobi was then cut off by Riku saying.

"That won't be necessary; I can handle this on my own. She's _my_ sister, so it is _my _duty to save her" Riku responded.

"Riku, think about the risk that you're taking here! Danzo having his hands on Kushina is bad enough; I can't allow you to get captured as well! It could doom us all! At least let me add a Plan B to this!" the aged Hokage pleaded.

"As far as I'm concerned, there is no Plan B! I have a trump card that should make Plan A all too easy, so don't worry! I've got this!" Riku reassured as he jumped out the window, ready to execute the plan that will hopefully set his sister free.

'_For all our sakes, Riku. I hope you are strong enough to handle this by yourself…'_

* * *

The exams went from mysterious to interesting in a matter of seconds for Naruto. One of the Sound Shinobi attacked Kabuto from out of nowhere and managed to harm him without even making physical contact. It was also soon after that when the proctor for the first exam, a scar faced Jonin by the name of Ibiki Morino appeared and immediately sent everyone to their seats and passed out the first exam… which just so happened to be a written exam. Much to Naruto's despair.

The rules to the exam are rather simple. Each examinee starts off with ten points, and gets two points deducted for each time he or she gets caught cheating. Once you hit zero points, you and the rest of your team is out. Everyone has one hour to complete the nine questions on the paper, and the tenth question will be given during the last ten minutes of the exam. Needless to say, Naruto was internally freaking out while trying to solve the questions. He would never even be able to get one question right on his own brainpower to save his life!

'_I'm doomed!' _was Naruto's only thought as he continued to try to solve the questions in vain.

Hinata on the other hand, is smart enough to solve a few questions on her own and was able to answer three of the questions on her own during the first half hour. The other questions however, were too hard to solve by herself, but managed to find her answers by using her Byakugan. It was also through the use of her Byakugan that she found out that Naruto was having some problems and began to worry for him.

'_Naruto, please calm down and think. I know you're smart enough to figure out the true meaning of this exam. You just have to calm down and think for a second. Do what Kakashi-sensei said and think underneath the underneath…'_

Sasuke is not as smart as Hinata when it comes to book smarts, but was still able to find his answers for the exam by using his Sharingan to copy the movements of the person sitting in front of him.

'_Humph! This is almost too easy…'_

* * *

There were now only five minutes left in the exam, and it was only at this point that Naruto finally managed to calm himself down and think straight, much to Hinata's happiness since she is still watching him with her Byakugan.

'_Alright, I think I've finally managed to figure out the true meaning behind this exam… the whole point of it is to cheat without getting caught. So all I have to do is find a way to get the answers without directly looking at somebody else's paper. Now how am I going to do that… Wait! I got it!'_ Naruto thought as he slightly unsheathed his sword about an entire thumb length and used the reflection to take a look at the mirrors that are placed at the top of the room. He then used the double reflection to get a look at a few of the tests and managed decipher a few of the answers he managed to get a look at and wrote them down.

It was after he managed to write down a total of five answers when Ibiki, "Alright, pencil's down! It's time for the tenth and final question!"

'_Alright… here we go… the last question… probably all or nothing… I can do this!' _Naruto thought with a look of new determination.

"But, before I give you the question… there are some more rules that you need to be aware of. These rules are unique to question ten, so listen carefully... and try not to let them frighten you…" Ibiki sadistically said, clearly intent on mentally breaking as many examinees as possible. "Rule number one, each of you is free to not take the final question; it's your decision…"

This rule shocked many people in the room, causing many of them to think the same thing, _'What's the catch?'_

"Whoa, so what's the catch? Let's say we don't want to do it, what happens then?" Temari asked.

'_What indeed, Sand-bitch'_ Hinata thought.

Ibiki answered her question with a sadistic smirk that could freeze water, "If you choose not to take the tenth question, regardless of your answers on the other nine… you get a zero. In other words, you fail! Which of course means that your teammates fail as well…"

This caused the crowd to obviously decide that they'll take the final question. After all, who would choose to fail? Ibiki then chose to end their discussions, "Not so fast… you didn't let me finish…"

This caused Sakura to groan and think, _'Ugh! More rules? Enough already!'_

"If you do accept the question and answer incorrectly… you will not only fail… **YOU WILL BE BARRED FROM TAKING THE CHUNIN EXAMS EVER AGAIN!**"

This caused cries out outrage from the crowd of Genin that haven't been kicked out yet. Kiba even voiced his thoughts and shouted, "Hey! That's bull, man! That's ridiculous! What kind of bogus rule is that? There's lots of people that have taken this test before!" Akamaru then barked in agreement too.

Ibiki just laughed sadistically at Kiba's comment and responded, "I guess you're just… unlucky… I wasn't making the rules before, but I am now. Of course, if you don't wanna take it… you don't have to… If you're not confident, then by all means skip it… you can come back and try again next year." Ibiki then ended his statement with another creepy laugh that sent shivers down many Genin's spines.

Ibiki then gave the crowd a minute to let the rules sink in before proceeding, "Now, if you're ready… the tenth and final question… those who don't want to take it, raise your hand."

Slowly but surely, the room started to empty out as people that lost their confidence left. The Rookie 9 and a good number of the other teams however, chose to stay. Ibiki then chose to make one last mental jab at the crowd before making his final judgment, "This decision is one that can change your life, if for any reason you would rather quit… now's your last chance…"

This was the final load that broke the camel's back, Naruto chose to finally speak up and shout, "Just get on with it already! The rest of us have chosen to stay and we're sticking to it! So just give us the last question already!"

This outburst of Naruto somehow managed to convince the few left that were about to quit choose to stay. Ibiki noticed this and chose to finally move on and said, "Well then, I admire your determination if nothing else… for those of you remaining there's only one thing left to do… and that's for me to tell you… that you've all passed the first exam!"

* * *

'_Alright… I'm out in the open and completely alone… now all I have to do is wait for Danzo's flunkies, and hopefully sis to show up'_ Riku thought as he stood near the base of the waterfall that he, Naruto, and Hinata have used to train for the past few years. Riku chose to use this time to meditate and calm his mind. He will need to be completely focused for the upcoming battle.

'_I know you're out there, Danzo… you can't hide my sister from me forever. You may think that you have the upper hand, but you couldn't be more wrong. I hope you've said your prayers because your days are numbered… nobody messes with an Uzumaki and gets away with it!'_

Riku then felt five chakra signatures headed towards him. Three of them are equal to that of an average Jonin, and the other two are Kage level. It took a single minute for the group to get to the edge of the clearing and spot Riku meditating at the edge of the lake the waterfall drops into.

Riku sensed that Danzo's group has shown up, so he opened his eyes and stood up. He then glared at the section of the clearing that Danzo's group hid themselves in and shouted, "I know you're there, Danzo! Show yourself! There's no point in hiding anymore!"

Danzo then did just that and appeared with three of his ROOT ANBU and red haired woman in a standard issue ANBU uniform with a katana strapped to her waist. Riku easily recognized her as Kushina, it was impossible for him to mistake her incredibly long crimson red hair. He then noticed that her eyes, one of the few features that the two of them shared were different now. They are still violet, but they no longer held her signature mischievous and lively glint. They were now dull and almost lifeless, as if she lost all hope. Riku almost thought that she did just that until she saw something on her forehead. What he saw was a black seal on her forehead; it only took him a moment to notice that it is a control seal, and a powerful one at that. Seeing this made Riku's anger bubble to the surface.

"What have you done to my sister, Danzo?" Riku demanded with an angry glare, his violet eyes darkening with fury.

"I've merely made her see things my way and agree to my plans to take the mantle of Hokage" Danzo responded.

Riku's eyes then lost their violet color and turned bright red, "Cut the shit, Danzo! I know that is a control seal that you've placed on my sister's head! Now let her go before I tear your throat out!"

"Never, I need her for my plans to kick Hizuren out of office and crush any opposition the village might have about me becoming Hokage. I already have Orochimaru on my side, but I know full well that he will betray me when he believes that he does not need me anymore, and that is why I need you to kill him when I'm done with him and his little 'Sound Village.' Then, when I finally have full control of this village, I will turn it into the military superpower that it is destined to be, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki will become the ultimate weapon that will cement this village's position as the most powerful ninja village in the world! After he is properly trained of course…"

Even though nobody noticed this, Kushina's eyes flickered with worry and concern for her son for a brief moment. This proves that even if the seal is dominant for the moment, Kushina is still fighting back.

Riku is now beyond furious with Danzo and isn't even trying to show it. He has completely entered Rage Mode, bright red eyes, aura, and all. Danzo noticed this and rhetorically asked, "Do you hate me? You're a ninja, so you should be fully aware that you are not supposed to feel emotions like that. They will only make you weak and cloud your judgement."

Riku has had enough now, his bright red aura flared as he shouted, "WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM? Everybody thinks their right… and you… think that you can do whatever you want, and then hide behind the claim that it's for the good of the village… Well, I'm sick of it! GO ON! YOU JUST KEEP SHOUTING YOUR CLAIMS ABOUT WHAT THE PERFECT NINJA IS! BUT I'LL ALWAYS BE THERE TO PROVE YOU WRONG AND SHUT YOU UP!"

Riku controlled himself slightly and continued, his Kekkei Genkai still clearly active, "Allow me to prove just how misguided and foolish you really are!"

Danzo just scoffed at this and said, "I'd like to see you try, but can you actually bring yourself to harm your dear sister? By all means, from my point of view I have already won."

"It's not over until the battle ends! I have won every battle that has ever truly had any meaning to me with one exception. I will come out on top at the end of this!"

"I'd like to see you try."

"Talk is cheap, let's see if you have any bite to go with your bark." Riku hissed as he drew his sword, the Mystic Whirlpool and got into his ready position.

"Let's" Danzo replied as he motioned for his three ANBU to attack. Danzo believed that his ANBU were at least strong enough to slightly injure Riku, but was swiftly disappointed when Riku disappeared in a crimson blur and slashed apart his ANBU in a swift display of swordsmanship that was impossible for Danzo to follow.

"Do you still believe that you can win?" Riku asked in an icy tone of cold fury.

"I still _know_ that I can win. I know full well that you will not kill your own sister, so this will be all too easy." Danzo replied.

"There are more ways to win then eliminating your opponent. Allow me to show you" Riku said while placing the Mystic Whirlpool back in its sheath on his back, and brought two sheathed katanas out from his jacket and placed one on his belt and threw the other one to Kushina.

"Sis, if you're going to fight me, then you can at least use your old weapon! You gave that to me before you left home and came here, remember?" Riku asked his sister as he noticed that her eyes flickered in recognition and a tear escaped her eyes before they returned to the dull violet from before.

'_Good, she's still in there…'_

"What are you waiting for? Get him!" Danzo ordered.

Kushina wordlessly placed the Winter Moon, the sword that Riku just threw to her on her utility belt as she drew the ANBU katana that was given to her earlier by Danzo and held it in her signature backhand position.

Riku then drew the other sword that he brought out and held it in his signature position, with the sword in his right hand and level with his face and his left hand out in front with his feet placed in a stable position.

Kushina then charged at Riku. The only words that Riku said before he charged as well were, "Is there no other way?"

* * *

**Author: DONE!**

**Lawyer: (Chanting) Sue! Sue! Sue!**

**Author: That's it! I've had it with you people! Riku! Kushina! Escape plan Delta!**

**Riku & Kushina: On it! (The two of them and the author pull out box shaped explosives from what can only be defined as malletspace and placed them on the ground)**

**Author: Alright then, cover your ears, close your eyes… NOW! FLASHBANG!**

***Charges explode in a bright light and loud noise that completely disabled the lawyers***

**Kushina: Run! Before they realize what happened!**

**Riku: And while you're at it, review before we decide to trick the lawyers into chasing all our non-reviewers!**


	17. Freedom

**Kushina: Danzo! I'm gonna kick your ass!**

**Riku: After I free you-**

**Kushina: After Riku frees me!**

**Author: Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself, Kushina?**

**Kushina: Maybe, but I don't care! I just wanna kick Danzo's ass and make him pay for what he's done in a slow and painful fashion!**

**Riku: You'll get your chance, but first things first-**

**Kushina: I know, I know! You have to get that damn seal off me first!**

**Riku: Are you done cutting me off yet? I still gotta say-**

**Kushina: Fine! Fine! I'm done cutting you off! Just say the disclaimer already!**

**Riku: … *Stares at Kushina with an exasperated look***

**Kushina: What? (Insert clueless face here)**

**Riku: Forget it… the Author doesn't own Naruto, just whatever unfortunate OC's he manages to throw into this story.**

**Author: So true, oh, and I'd like to point out that I have chosen to **_**slightly **_**introduce Riku and Kushina's older brother in this chapter, but his name will not be said until later.**

Chapter 16: Freedom

Riku and Kushina charged at each other at unbelievable speeds and met each other at the very center of the clearing. Both of their katanas clashed with even strength, sending sparks flying from the impact. The siblings then broke the sword clash by jumping backwards to plan their next attacks. Kushina quickly made the next attack by bolting at Riku and unleashed an incredibly fast barrage of sword strikes (**Ryu Son Sen**), an attack that Riku barely escaped by using a **substitution**. Riku then appeared above Kushina and performed a **Ryu Tsui Sen**, in hopes of a quick knockout, but was denied when Kushina noticed it and dodged to the left. Kushina then counterattacked with a quick slash at Riku's midsection, but was swiftly blocked by Riku's reverse blade sword.

The two then jumped back again and stared into each other's eyes. Kushina's eyes were still blank and almost completely void of any life, keyword is _almost_, and Riku's were full of determination. Then, without any warning, the two charged at each other again. Riku aimed a knockout blow at Kushina's neck, but red-haired kunoichi ducked, spun, and slashed at Riku. The white-haired ninja jumped back to avoid the slash, but only managed to half-dodge the attack and received a VERY shallow cut to his chest.

'_I need to find a way to end this fast. I could beat sis any day of the week if I fought her without holding back, but that might kill her. THINK RIKU! You need to find a way to knock her out without causing her any lasting damage!'_ Riku thought as he narrowly dodged another onslaught of sword strikes Kushina was forced to direct at her own brother.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were practically making sport of all their opponents in the Forest of Death. Naruto was the first to encounter the enemy when he was taking a bathroom break, and almost managed to capture the Rain Ninja that tried to capture him. However, it didn't end as he planned because he used a variety of water and regular Clone Justus to escape as Naruto dispatched the fakes.

Then there was an incident with a group of overconfident Cloud Ninja that thought they could easily capture Hinata and steal her eyes, but were promptly proven wrong when she beat the living daylights out of the leader of the group with her Gentle Fist empowered sword strikes while Naruto and Sasuke slashed and burned the other two Cloud Ninja. It was also their lucky day when they had the Cloud Ninja knocked out cold because the scroll that they were carrying was the one that they needed and immediately headed for the tower in the center of the forest, choosing not to take any more scrolls than they needed.

However, their lucky streak wasn't going to last forever because halfway through the day; Hinata detected someone following them at the edge of the range of her Byakugan.

"Naruto, Sasuke" Hinata warned as she jumped between the two.

"What is it, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"We're being followed."

"Do you know who it is? Or at least how strong the person is?" Sasuke asked, eager for another battle.

"I can't tell, the person following us is making sure to stay at the very edge of my range of vision, but there is one thing that I can tell."

"And what's that?" Naruto asked.

"This person's chakra reserves are NOT Genin, or even Chunin level. They're far above even Kakashi-sensei's level, but that's not all…" Hinata trailed off as she tried to get a closer look at their pursuer.

Sasuke chose to ask and said, "And what is the worst part?"

Hinata answered while shivering in fear, "His chakra system is…scary… unnatural…"

Naruto then asked, "How can a chakra system be scary?"

"It's bent in so many unnatural angles that I don't think that they ever even existed until he found a way to make them that way… I don't know who he is, but there is no way that he can be a Genin, or even Chunin!" Hinata said as she averted her vision from their pursuer, unable to look at the monstrosity for another second.

"Then why is he even here? Why is he following us?" Sasuke demanded while raising his voice.

"I don't know!" Hinata shouted back, "All I know is that we need to get out of here now! The more time we waste here, the closer this monster is going to get!"

"Humph! I say we face this monster. This thing will be the perfect practice dummy for my Sharingan eyes." Sasuke grunted confidently in his 'Uchihas are superior' tone of voice.

Naruto however, quickly countered, "Are you crazy, Sasuke? Just one look at this guy's chakra network was enough to scare Hinata! Plus, if Hinata's right, he's stronger than Kakashi-sensei, who we can't even scratch when he's _playing_ with us. How are we supposed to beat this guy when we can't even touch Kakashi-sensei?"

"Humph, I'll find a way" was Sasuke's answer; however, Naruto was not amused.

"That's your plan? 'You'll find a way?' If that is your plan then I suggest all three of us just get out of here now while we still can!"

Hinata then chose to play peacemaker, "Please Sasuke, just let go of your pride for a minute and realize that this is a fight that we can only win by avoiding it. Let's get out of here before we get ourselves killed."

Sasuke quickly retorted and shouted, "How am I supposed to get any stronger by running away? How am I going to gain the strength I need to kill Itachi if I avoid opportunities like this to get stronger?"

"By making sure that you are strong enough handle a challenge like this first!" Naruto shouted back.

The two shinobi glared at each other with mutual animosity before Hinata played peacemaker again and pleaded, "Naruto, Sasuke, please stop fighting already! The more time we waste fighting amongst ourselves, the closer this monster gets! We have to get out of here now before he catches up to us! We're only a few minutes away from the tower, if we run at full speed we'll be able to make it there before he catches us!"

Naruto then added, "Hinata's right, Sasuke. Listen to reason just this once so we can get out of here! We already have all the scrolls we need to pass, so just let this go for a moment so we can get out of here and move on to the next exam! If we waste all our strength fighting an unnecessary battle then we might not have enough strength left to pass the next exam!"

Sasuke was unable to find a reasonable comeback to that and finally conceded, "Humph! Fine, I'll go, but that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

"Thank you, Sasuke" Hinata said before the group took off for the tower at full speed, and managed to make it to the tower five minutes later, exhausted from the mad dash, but happy that they passed the second exam.

* * *

In the shadows just out of view of the tower in the middle of the Forest of Death, Orochimaru glared at the tower in hatred.

'_I underestimated you, Sasuke. You managed to complete this exam before I could catch up to you. Very impressive, but there will be other opportunities for me to meet you face-to-face. I am a patient man, Sasuke, so I can wait… it's only a matter of time until you're all alone, and that's when I'll strike!'_ Orochimaru chuckled evilly to himself before sinking into the ground.

* * *

The clearing near a waterfall was filled with the sound of swords clashing and an occasional jutsu being thrown. Danzo was looking down at the battle with barely suppressed glee. Riku was holding back the majority of his of strength to keep himself from harming Kushina, and was paying for it in the form of multiple cuts riddling his chest and legs. None of the cuts were deep enough to cut into the muscles, but in Danzo's eyes, it was proof that he isn't going to last much longer if he doesn't come up with something soon.

Kushina is in better condition than Riku at the moment. She's only sporting a few black and blue bruises on her arms, and a few cuts on her torso and legs, but any of those could have been decisive hits if Riku was using a real katana.

The two were now panting in the middle of the clearing, Danzo now fully believed that Riku was on his last legs and decided to order Kushina to end it. "Kushina, I believe it's time for you to end this. Use the **Whirlpool Supersonic Sword style**'s final attack, but make sure to spare Riku while you're doing it!"

Riku now began to panic a little on the inside while Kushina got into the **Battojutsu** stance. _'This is bad! The only way to counter the __**Amakakeru ryu no Hirameki**__ is with another __**Amakakeru**__**ryu no Hirameki**__, and I'd end up killing her if I do that! What do I do now?'_

The answer came to him when he was randomly drawn into his mindscape.

*****_**Riku's Mindscape***_

_Riku looked around and found himself at his old training grounds back in the Whirlpool Country. There was a giant waterfall at the end of the small valley, and there is a stone outcropping just in front of the waterfall. Riku walked up to the stone outcropping and saw a man wearing an exact copy of Riku's jacket and an exact copy of Riku's sword at his waist. He also had auburn hair and is currently staring at the waterfall, but that doesn't mean that he didn't notice Riku._

"_You've really gotten yourself into quite a mess this time, Riku" the auburn haired man said while turning to face Riku, shocking the white-haired man when he got a good look at him._

"_I-is that you, brother?"_

"_In a manner of speaking, we are currently inside your mind, and I am just a figment of your imagination. I am only here to give you a clue of what you should do to get Kushina out of her little predicament with minimal damage" Riku's older brother answered._

"_And how am I supposed to do that? The only way to counter an __**Amakakeru ryu no Hirameki**__ is with another one!"_

_The older Uzumaki answered, "Just think for a moment about how __you__ first used the __**Amakakeru ryu no Hirameki**__. How is the technique supposed to be performed?"_

_Riku thought for a moment before answering, "I first used it when you gave me the final test of the __**Whirlpool Supersonic Sword style**__. You used your __**Kuzu ryu Sen**__ on me, and all I did was focus on trying to stay alive and put all my willpower into striking before you did. I almost thought I killed you before I found out that I was fighting a Shadow Clone the whole time!"_

"_And do you think that Kushina is capable of pulling off all that in her current state? All she's able to do is follow Danzo's orders with little to no resistance. She currently does not have the willpower needed to pull off the __**Amakakeru ryu no Hirameki**__" the older Uzumaki reasoned._

"_Which means that all she'll be able to pull off is a regular __**Battojutsu**__!" Riku finished._

"_Exactly! Now get back in there and save our sister!"_

"_With pleasure!" Riku said, giving his brother a thumbs up and a lopsided smirk before exiting his mindscape._

_***Back in the real world***_

Riku focused back on his sister, who was still in the **Battojutsu** stance, ready to draw at a moment's notice. It looked like not a single second has passed since Riku had his short conversation with his older brother. Riku then immediately entered the stance needed to perform the **Kuzu ryu Sen** and heard Danzo patronize him.

"Ha! Fool! Do you honestly think that a **Kuzu ryu Sen **can overcome the **Amakakeru ryu no Hirameki**? The **Amakakeru ryu no Hirameki** was designed to overcome that technique! You've already lost, so why don't you just come quietly and spare yourself the pain?"

Riku then retorted, "Shut up, you talk too much. I know far more about this sword style's techniques than you ever will. I know what I'm doing, so why don't you just sit back and watch as your plans fall apart."

This pissed Danzo off, even if he didn't show it, so he just shouted, "Kushina! Finish it!"

Kushina responded and tried to use the **Amakakeru ryu no Hirameki **while Riku shouted, **"Whirlpool Supersonic Sword style: Kuzu ryu Sen!"**

Riku's attack moved so fast that his reverse blade sword looked like nine beams of light shooting at Kushina all at once, and Kushina looked like a red blur. The clash then ended before any of the three people present had any time to blink. Riku stood crouched at one end of the clearing with his sword outstretched in front of him while Kushina fell to the ground face first as her katana spun in midair before landing tip first in the ground between the two combatants.

Danzo looked at the spectacle in disbelief, _'How is this possible? How did he defeat the __**Amakakeru ryu no Hirameki**__? This doesn't make any sense! Kushina performed the technique flawlessly, but was still unable to break Riku's __**Kuzu ryu Sen**__! How did this happen?'_

Riku then stood up, sheathed his reverse blade sword and drew the Mystic Whirlpool while glaring at Danzo and shouted, "It's over Danzo! You have lost! Now why don't you just come quietly so Hizuren can sort out your punishment for the kidnapping of the Fourth Hokage's wife and countless orphans?"

"Never! You may think that this is over, but this is only the beginning! This part of my plan may be a failure, but I still have many more tricks up my sleeve. This is nothing more than a minor setback!" Danzo shouted back before Riku charged at the old man. However, when Riku slashed at him, Danzo disappeared in a swirl of wind and leaves.

Riku then spat, "Dammit! I'm really beginning to hate that man!"

He probably would have tried to chase after Danzo if the sound of Kushina groaning in pain didn't remind him of his first priority. Riku was that at his sister's side in a millisecond and flipped her on her back. She was out cold and sporting a few bruises, but other than that, she was unharmed. Riku let out a sigh of relief and summoned one of his hawks to tell Sarutobi to drag Jiraiya away from the hot springs and meet him at the hospital.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were now doing whatever they could to kill time until the other four days of the exam ended. The only other teams to make it so far were Team 8 and the Sand team. Team 8, as they explained when Team 7 met up with them, said that the only reason that they managed to get here so early was because a team that chose to single them out early accidentally fell into a nest of man-eating leeches, and managed to recover the scroll due to Shino's insects recovering the scroll from a safe distance.

A quick summary of what happened during the last few hours of the day would be Kiba attempting to hit on Hinata (all advances ended in pain for Kiba), Temari attempting to flirt with Naruto (Hinata pulls Naruto away due to Naruto being too nice to say no, regardless of the fact that Temari scares him), Shino watching everything from the background, Gaara doing the same thing as Shino while doing everything within his power to restrain his bloodlust, Kankuro getting beaten up by Temari for attempting to scold her for flirting with Naruto, Sasuke being Sasuke, and Sakura doing everything she can to prevent herself from reverting back to her fangirlish ways. Hinata noticed this and chose to her about this in the one of the tower's few hallways at night when almost everyone was going to bed.

"Can I ask you a question, Sakura?" Hinata asked while catching the pinkette off guard.

"Oh, Hinata. What are you still doing up?"

"I felt like taking a walk, and I'd like to ask you about your recent change in attitude. You used to be one of Sasuke's many fangirls, and quite possibly the biggest one too. So what caused you to change so fast?" Hinata asked.

Sakura was quiet for a moment as she looked out a window before answering, "You can thank Kurenai-sensei for that, she absolutely _refused _to allow me to keep my fangirlish attitude and gave me a _very _long lecture of how fangirls are the bane of all real kunoichi and how I had to shape up as soon as possible or I'd just be a complete burden to my team. She even devised _very _creative punishments for fangirlish behavior."

"Do I even need to ask what they were?" Hinata asked rhetorically.

"I might as well tell you anyway. The punishment for fangirlism with Kurenai-sensei is being put in one of her Genjutsus. You cannot believe what she put me through to break my fangirlish behavior! The Genjutsu ranged from making me believe that my hair was shaved off completely in public, to forcing me to see Sasuke run off with Ino of all people! I know Kurenai-sensei means well, but some of her punishments were just cruel!" Sakura explained.

"But you did benefit from all this right?" Hinata asked.

"I guess, all those punishments made it real easy for me to notice Genjutsu, and once my fangirlism finally stopped, she became a lot more pleasant to be around. She even taught me some interesting Genjutsu."

"So, does this mean that you've given up on Sasuke, and that you're done being a fangirl?" Hinata asked, interested in what the ex-fangirl might say.

"Hell no! My fangirl days may be over, but I'm not going to give up on Sasuke that easily! I'm not going to pester him for dates, stalk him, or see him as a God-on-Earth anymore, but I'm not going to give up on him just yet! Oh, and I'm not going to let you have him either, Hinata!" Sakura boldly proclaimed.

Hinata scoffed at Sakura's challenge and countered, "You can have him for all I care! I'm not interested in him and his 'Uchihas are superior' complex. However, I would like to ask you a favor."

"And what is it?" Sakura asked, glad that she didn't have to compete with Hinata for Sasuke.

"If you do manage to become Sasuke's girlfriend, knock him down a few notches and do something about his elitist complex! He has far too much pride for his own good!" Hinata exclaimed with a giggle.

Sakura giggled back at Hinata's comment, "Sure thing! That's near the top of my 'things to do when I finally catch Sasuke' list!"

The two girls giggled and laughed at Sakura's comment for a brief moment before Sakura asked shyly, "Hey, Hinata…"

"What is it, Sakura?"

"Does this make us friends now?"

Hinata answered, "I don't see why not since we're on friendly terms now."

Sakura smiled at Hinata's response and said, "Thanks, ever since Ino and I let Sasuke get in-between the two of us, I've really needed a new female friend. Kurenai-sensei is more like a big sister then a friend, Shino's _way_ too silent, and Kiba's well… _Kiba_."

Hinata giggled at Sakura's comment on Kiba while Sakura asked, "Is there anything going on between you and Kiba by any chance?"

Hinata just simply laughed out, "Hell no! Kiba's like that annoying long-lost cousin that you wish you never had!"

Sakura then joined in Hinata's laughter before asking, "Then who do you like? You've always been hanging around Naruto, Choji, and Shikamaru. So who is it? It has to be one of those three, so who is it?"

Hinata blushed and asked, "You promise you won't tell him? I'd rather tell him myself when I'm ready…"

"Sure thing! It'll be our little secret! So who is it? I bet it's Shikamaru!" Sakura asked excitedly, almost drooling at the juicy information… almost.

Hinata's blush went from a light pink to scarlet before answering, "It's Naruto, and I don't think my feelings for him are just a simple crush anymore either… I think I'm in love with him."

Sakura was stunned by this for a moment. She didn't even once think that the person Hinata would set her sights on would be Naruto of all people due to the fact that she's been living under the same roof as him for over two years now!

"No way" Sakura responded.

"It's true, I've had these feelings for him ever since I first met him and he saved me from a group of bullies. At first I only admired him for his inability to give up, but those feelings only continued to grow over time until I began to full out fall in love with him" Hinata explained.

"So why haven't you told him yet? You've been living under the same roof as him for over two years for crying out loud!" Sakura asked.

Hinata answered, "I've tried to, but whenever I did my nerves get the best of me and I get all tongue tied around him and eventually give up and say that it's nothing."

"And why hasn't he figured out yet on his own?" Sakura asked.

Hinata answered in a pouty voice, "Because he's as dense as a rock when it comes to romance…"

"I see…" Sakura mumbled as she began formulating ways to get Naruto and her new friend together.

* * *

It was around midnight when Jiraiya managed to remove the seal that Danzo had placed on Kushina's forehead. The seal, while it may have looked simple, was actually very complex and took the Toad Sage a good two hours to fully remove the seal, and another hour for the doctors to perform a full checkup to make sure that nothing else was done to her during her twelve- almost thirteen years of captivity. Fortunately, other than a few bruises and cracked ribs that would fully heal within a week, Kushina was going to be just fine.

Riku and Jiraiya are now in Kushina's hospital room, talking while waiting for her to wake up.

"So then Riku, how did you survive the Kyubi attack anyway? I thought everyone in the Whirlpool Village was wiped out when the Kyubi blew it sky high" Jiraiya asked.

"I was far enough away from the village walls when it happened, but was still close enough to see the whole thing happen and fight the man that was controlling the Kyubi" Riku answered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back up! Are you saying that the Kyubi was being controlled that night?"

"Yeah, man controlling that demon was Madara Uchiha" Riku answered in a very serious voice.

"How is he even alive now? He's gotta be over a hundred years old by now!"

"How the hell should I know?" Riku retorted, "All I know is that he is, and he's probably still out there! I barely survived that night, and probably would have died if Tsunade and Shizune didn't find my half-dead body floating down a river the day after!"

"So that's how you survived, Tsunade saved you" Jiraiya mused.

Riku chuckled dully, "It was actually Shizune that did most of the work. Over half my body was covered in blood, and both my arms were broken. Due to her Hemophobia, Tsunade barely did anything to help me until I was completely bandaged, and it was already by then that my life was no longer in danger. Tsunade did a good job fixing my broken bones, but Shizune was the one that saved my life. She barely left my side for even a moment until I was finally at full strength again."

"It sounds like you're making a big deal out of this. Is there something going on here that I'm not yet aware of?" Jiraiya grinned perversely, already planning a new scenario for his next book, _'The main character gets wounded in battle and narrowly escapes death, and is then found unconscious by a traveling medicine woman and her lovely young apprentice… I like the sound of that… now all I need to do is figure out where and when to place the sex scenes…'_

Riku just gave Jiraiya a look of outrage and a half-concealed blush before responding, "What the hell are you talking about, Pervy-Sage?"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT! And all I'm saying is that I believe that _the_ Riku Uzumaki has _finally_ found himself a love interest!" Jiraiya concluded as Kushina shot her left hand up in the air and proved that she was awake for the entire conversation by shouting, "I second that! After hearing what you just said, bro. I also believe that you have _finally _found yourself a girlfriend!"

"Those were the first words that you have ever spoken to me in almost thirteen years, and you used them to gang up on me?" Riku asked incredulously.

"Yep!" Kushina chirped.

"Unbelievable…" Riku groaned.

Jiraiya used this moment in an attempt to corner Riku, "Alright, I've got Kushina on my side now, so fess up! You have _finally_ found yourself a girlfriend!"

"What is this? The academy all over again?" Riku shouted in outrage.

"It can be if you want it to" Kushina said cheekily.

"Seriously! What is it with you two? Is it tease Riku day or something? I thought that was last week!" Riku groaned.

"Wait, that was last week? Aww man! I missed it!" Kushina playfully complained.

"Oh ha ha! Very funny, sis! Now can I please just continue my story?" Riku retorted sarcastically, barely dodging a forced confession.

"Please, go on. Spare no detail" Kushina replied.

"Thank you, so anyway, once I was finally back to full strength, which took about half a year to accomplish. Yes, I was _that _beaten up. I chose to wander around with Tsunade and Shizune for a bit and ended up staying with them for about six years until we got separated from a close call with one of Tsunade's more… _violent _tax collectors."

"And what did you do after that?" Kushina asked.

"I then spent the next three years as a traveling mercenary, killing bandits, assassinating corrupt politicians, saving villages, etcetera. However, that changed when I heard a few drunk Leaf Ninja talking about a supposed 'demon child' and immediately became suspicious about it. So I chose to investigate and found out that they were talking about Naruto, and promptly took him under my wing after seeing the way the villagers were mistreating him"

"THEY WHAT?" Kushina shrieked while trying to get up and leaked a massive amount of killing intent that only an angry mother could exude. Riku and Jiraiya attempted to calm her down and get her to lie back down and not aggravate her injuries, but she wouldn't have any of it and pushed the two men away.

Jiraiya quickly got back up and somehow managed to push Kushina back down with one hand with minimal effort. Jiraiya wondered how he managed to pull that off so easily, why Kushina was now suddenly eerily quiet, and why Riku was now slowly backing away and out the door. Jiraiya then looked down at his hand and immediately found the answer to his mental question… the hand that he used to push Kushina back down was resting on her right breast.

Kushina's was now giving Jiraiya a weird look with both of her eyes twitching, and Jiraiya let go and waved his hands in front of himself in panic and pleaded, "I-It was an accident, Kushina! I was only trying to prevent you from aggravating your injuries any further!"

However, his pleas fell on deaf ears as Kushina's eyes were now filled with hell's fury as she shrieked, "PERVERT!" and delivered a Tsunade-sized punch right to Jiraiya's face. Sending him soaring through the only, and now broken, window in the room, into the night sky, and halfway across the village before crashing through the roof of the Hokage tower and into Sarutobi's office.

The aged Hokage raised an eyebrow and nonchalantly asked, "I take it that Kushina is awake now?"

Jiraiya barely managed to groan out a pained "yes" before thinking, _'I don't think I'll ever be able to figure out how all women gain Tsunade-like strength when someone ticks them off!'_

It was after that thought when the pain became too much to bear and Jiraiya passed out.

* * *

**Author: Ahh… life just isn't funny without you, Jiraiya!**

**Riku: This has been quite the eventful chapter, should we do a recap?**

**Author: We shall!**

**Kushina: I'll start! I have finally been freed from Danzo!**

**Riku: Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke completed the Second Exam, and barely escaped the albino pedophile's clutches!**

**Kushina: We found out why Sakura stopped being a fangirl!**

**Riku: Hinata made a new friend!**

**Kushina: I was freed from that damned seal!**

**Riku: A big hint was dropped on who our big brother is!**

**Kushina: I punched Pervy-Sage out a window!**

**Riku: We found out how I survived the Kyubi attack, and a little bit about my possible love interest!**

**Kushina: I punched Pervy-Sage out a window!**

**Author: You already said that**

**Kushina: I know, I just really enjoyed doing that!**

**Jiraiya: Well I most certainly did not!**

**Kushina: Well too bad! I did, and that's all that matters!**

**Riku: ANYWAY! Please review before sis decides punch Pervy-Sage in your general direction.**


End file.
